A new win-win situation for the health of our native forests and the people dedicated to protecting them is emerging in the Kaimai bush north of Tauranga.
Aongatete Forest near Katikati has been chosen as the best site for a scientific trial of new self-setting possum traps.
The trial began this month with up to five dead possums already observed at most traps.
Department of Conservation staff will continue to monitor the performance of the traps throughout the year.
Several sites have been chosen for year-long trials to assess the new traps which were designed by Wellington company Goodnature Ltd.
These traps contain a small gas canister which automatically resets the trap every time it goes off, making them easier to manage than standard traps and poisons, which must be checked regularly.
DOC is undertaking several national trials of these traps which could save many hours of work for community volunteers, as well as staff from DOC and other environmental agencies.
They may even lead to major improvements in the overall efficiency and scope of possum control undertaken in New Zealand.
DOC ranger Brad Angus is managing the field trial and is pleased with the early results. 'Aongatete already has a great community initiative underway that is controlling introduced predators, so this trial is adding value to an existing project run by them,” says Brad.
'The trial site is far enough from the community group trap lines so as not to affect results, but overall the forest is going to be in better shape because we are working alongside the Aongatete Forest Restoration Trust volunteers who are caring for the area.”
Stu Barr from Goodnature Ltd says the potential for the traps is 'huge”.
'They will take a lot of the leg work out of pest control which is traditionally a very labour intensive job.
'In tough terrain just two people can lay 100 hectares of traps in a day that only need rechecking and servicing once a year.
'They could revolutionise pest control in New Zealand.”
Tauranga Trap Trial Facts
400 hectare trial site
9km trapline cut through bush
93 traps installed
80m between each trap
10 times the trap can go off and reset itself (approximate)
5 dead possums found at some of the traps during recent monitoring
6 comments
Let me have one!
Posted on 04-03-2012 15:30 | By john2000
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kill even more possums
Posted on 04-03-2012 15:45 | By michael_l_c
I am guessing that these traps killed 5 possums each in pretty short order. Why not a larger tank? It would be a pity for a possum to miss out.
???
Posted on 04-03-2012 18:21 | By panda
The murder of any animal should not be celebrated!
Get Real Panda
Posted on 05-03-2012 00:56 | By xenasdad
Would you like your house overrun with cockroaches Panda??, or would you "murder" them??. Well possums are "Murder" in our bush. You obviously have no idea how they strip and kill huge areas of forest, creating devastation, erosion, and other flow on problems. In Australia dingoes murder them and keep the population balanced, but here in NZ humans are their only check. Look them up on GOOGLE and see the size of the problem!!!! I am NOT a Twigs 'n Twitters, just one who has seen the desolation they leave having eaten out areas of bush and moved on next door.
oh god......
Posted on 05-03-2012 08:20 | By Raptor
.... there always has to be one....
Better than 1080
Posted on 05-03-2012 10:07 | By ronillian
If possums do need to be killed this reloadable possum trap is FAR more humane than the barbaric 1080 poison that causes such an agonizing death not just for the possums but for other animals that get poisoned secondarily. There is no excuse for deliberately causing such agony to any living creature when a humane alternative like this exists.
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