Inventor warns of copied traps

Conservationists across the country may unknowingly be using traps that are not endorsed by the Department of Conservation.

Phill Waddington, who developed the DOC 200 trap in the early 2000s to target stoats, rats and hedgehogs, says he is concerned with the availability of copies, or ‘‘fake’’ traps, that have not been tested for animal welfare.

While the original DOC 200, which is made under licence for the Department of Conservation by CMI Springs, had been tested by Landcare Research and met National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) guidelines, the copies had not.

Waddington feared animals caught in the copies could be subjected to slow and inhumane deaths. He identified two companies; Pest Control Research (PCR) and Combined Industries, selling copies that had not been tested to NAWAC guidelines.

The copies were cheaper, on average, than the CMI-made DOC 200 traps. Because the copies were being produced by different companies there was no guarantee they would perform to the same standard as the original.

‘‘The trigger needs to be set to the right weight. An animal could get halfway out [before setting the trap off] and die a slow death,’’ he said.

He believed the copies were damaging the reputation of the DOC 200. Waddington stressed that he made ‘‘not a cent’’ from the DOC 200 traps as he had ‘‘gifted the design to the people of New Zealand’’.

Landcare Research science team leader Bruce Warburton confirmed neither the PCR nor the Combined Industries traps had gone through the NAWAC test. But the PCR trap had undergone mechanical testing, which found it delivered a similar performance to the DOC 200.

The test noted the Conservation Department traps had a more sensitive trigger.

Pest Control Research managing director Malcolm Thomas said he understood Waddington’s concerns for the reputation of the DOC 200.

He was satisfied with the findings of the test and was confident the PCR traps were of a similar standard to the DOC 200, which made them a valuable conservation tool.

Conservation Department technical advisor Darren Peters said they had no issue with the traps being copied, but because the copied traps did not meet NAWAC guidelines, the department could not endorse their use on conservation land.

National Springs & Wire Products, which now distributes the Combined Industries trap, was approached for comment.