The programme uses biodegradable 1080 applied by air over large areas of rugged terrain to knock down rats, stoats and possums. Trapping and other ground-based predator control methods also play an important part.
Battle for our Birds in 2017
Widespread forest seeding will again this year lead to an increase in rats and stoats, putting our endangered native wildlife at risk. Areas of greatest risk are concentrated in North Island forests with fewer South Island areas affected.
We are planning our Battle for our Birds predator control programme over about 800,000 ha of conservation land, aiming to protect our most at-risk populations of vulnerable native species. Our field staff and scientists will monitor predator levels to ensure predator control is targetted where it’s needed most.
Information on predator control sites will be added once they are confirmed.
Success from predator control
DOC monitors results for some native species as well as the kill rates of rodents, possums and stoats to measure the effectiveness of our predator control.
Our 2016 pest control programme successfully knocked down rodents and prevented stoat plagues in priority conservation areas.