Threatened native species across the South Island will receive greater protection after the Government announced $14.1 million in extra predator control funding.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said the money, drawn from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, will allow the Department of Conservation to expand work against rats, stoats and other predators following a major beech mast event.
Beech forests across the South Island have dropped trillions of seeds this year, creating conditions for rat and stoat numbers to surge. DOC says that will place native birds, bats and other wildlife under heightened pressure over the coming year.
The additional funding will target predator control in Kahurangi, Arthur’s Pass, Mount Aspiring and Fiordland national parks, as well as the Maruia, Arawhata and Landsborough valleys on the West Coast.
More than 367,000 hectares will be covered using aerially applied biodegradable 1080 and trapping. The work is aimed at protecting species including mohua/yellowhead, kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet, piwauwau/rock wren, pekapeka/bats, whio, kea and kiwi.
Potaka said sustained predator control had already helped native birds recover in areas where rats, possums and stoats had been effectively suppressed.
The Government says the IVL funding will help DOC deliver its largest predator control programme, covering one million hectares, or about 12 percent of public conservation land, in 2026/27.
Image credit: Yathursan G
Oh, was I supposed to of been impressed by using 1080?, actually I am ashamed that the country I live in uses such a devastating poison.