Eradicators eye up Taranaki possums
A multi-million dollar project to wipe out the possum population in Taranaki has received a major boost that will see the eradication zone more than doubled.
The Taranaki Regional Council announced on Wednesday a further $2.5 million of funding had been sourced for Towards Predator-Free Taranaki, with the money to be spent on hiring more staff to widen the battle against possums.
The council’s Zero Possum project was launched in 2018 and covered 4500ha from Pukeiti to the coast.
Such has been the success of the project, the 2000ha of farmland within this zone has not had a resident possum population for more than 18 months, while just a handful of possums remain in the bush.
The level of eradication has convinced the Governmentfunded Predator Free 2050 Limited to invest more money to expand the area to the Hangatahua (Stony) River and bring about another 5000ha, which includes 120 extra farms into scope, including the north Taranaki township of Ō kato.
The Zero Possum project is a collaborative effort with Taranaki Mounga Project, which carries out predator control on Taranaki Maunga.
Taranaki Regional Council environment services manager Steve Ellis said the funding was exciting for the region and coastal
Taranaki in particular.
‘‘We are incredibly grateful to Predator Free 2050 Limited for this vote of confidence,’’ he said.
‘‘We know this project is making a real difference and this will allow us to build on that momentum and see the community reap even greater benefits.’’
Ellis said the project expansion would also benefit all landowners in the expanded zone with contractors taking over the work they presently had to do to try and control the possum population.
He believed community involvement had been crucial to the success of the wider Towards Predator-Free Taranaki programme and the Zero Possum project.
‘‘Over the past four years we have seen Kaitake and Oākura really get behind the vision.
‘‘People are reporting possum sightings and those in the township are trapping in their backyards.’’
As a result, residents were seeing birdlife returning to their gardens and farms.
‘‘Who knows, in the future they may even see kiwi spilling out from the ranges onto their paddocks.’’
Detector dogs would be deployed first in smaller areas of bush so traps and toxins could be better targeted, which should result in less use of the latter, Ellis said.
Predator Free 2050 Limited chairwoman Denise Church was impressed by the work done in Taranaki over the last five years.
‘‘I have no doubt this funding will see positive results and further learnings, this together with the knowledge gained by other projects we fund, will play a pivotal role to informing the design of the national implementation plan,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s also great to see the importance Taranaki Regional Council staff have placed on working alongside landowners and the community to ensure the success of the project.’’