NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

NZ's big pest bust: how do we kill the last survivors?

Jamie Morton
By Jamie Morton
Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·
1 Oct, 2019 02:40 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The ambitious new plan to make Taranaki, and the rest of New Zealand, predator free. / Alan Gibson

Scientists have begun investigating how to wipe out the last surviving pests in New Zealand's bold bid to rid itself of rats, stoats and possums by 2050.

A new $7.5 million programme, led by Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research scientists, aims to overcome what's long been a headache for predator-busting efforts – how to eliminate that final 5 per cent which manage to hang on.

The Government's ambitious Predator Free 2050 initiative required scientific breakthroughs that could lift the kill rate to 100 per cent – a much more expensive prospect than just knocking out most of a population.

While it cost an estimated $20 to $30 per hectare to take out 95 per cent of pests, raising the rate to 100 per cent could bring the cost up to more than $400 per hectare.

And in other cases, the price was far higher: the operation to make the Hauraki Gulf's Rangitoto and Motutapu islands pest-free a decade ago cost as much as $1200 per hectare.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Yet, if that last pocket wasn't removed, the survivors - left in an area with plentiful resources to help them more easily breed - could quickly begin rebuilding the local population.

This means more money has to be spent on repeatedly controlling them, as happened when the Department of Conservation recently needed to reapply 1080 to areas in the Kahurangi National Park.

The project's leader, Dr Chris Jones, said New Zealand was regarded as a world-leader in controlling and eradicating invasive mammalian predators - and much of that could be put down to the pest-killing devices our scientists had innovated.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"But those devices can only achieve complete eradication if all individuals in the target population interact with them, and we know that some don't," he said.

"We aim to ensure that even the most trap-shy individuals can be caught."

That meant solving some tough problems. For instance, was it possible to reveal whether these pesky stragglers had any predictable behavioural characteristics?

Failing to completely eradicate a target pest population can mean having to drop more 1080 poison when it rebounds - as happened in Kahurangi National Park this year. Photo / File
Failing to completely eradicate a target pest population can mean having to drop more 1080 poison when it rebounds - as happened in Kahurangi National Park this year. Photo / File

And, if so, could we use these against them?

In a world-first approach, Jones and his team plan to hone in on what makes some pest animals resistant to current control methods, so they can develop new technology to beat them.

Animal personality, he explained, was emerging as one of the most important concepts in behavioural ecology.

"This programme will be the first application of personality in pest animal management," he said.

"We already know that trappability of animals at the population level can vary depending on the time of year because of the relative availability of food or because of behavioural changes associated with breeding, but how does this vary at the individual level to make some individuals avoid entering traps or taking baits?"

Jones said the extent to which a pest responded to a cue, like a trap, was always balanced against the perceived risk, the value of the reward, and, ultimately, the traits of the individual animal.

Their work would develop a range of cues cleverly designed to alter the animal's entire perception of risk and reward.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

His team would be aided by Maori knowledge – such as traditional trapping and luring methods that drew on sound lures – along with the latest artificial intelligence approaches.

"Artificial intelligence – especially the use of image recognition to identify pest species - has massive potential to help in targeted pest control," senior researcher Bruce Warburton said.

This technology was smart enough to tell the difference between target and non-target species - dis-arming a trap if needed – and even deploy special sensory lures once a pest had been detected.

And if scientists could succeed at total eradication, that might reduce the need for toxins like 1080 to keep being applied.

"We believe we can reduce the cost of eradication by at least 25 per cent, as fewer control devices would be used, due to increased device encounter rates, and shorter time durations needed, due to increased device interaction rates," Warburton said.

"Our collaboration with Māori and Moriori partners will ensure our research responds to their priorities – a first for predator tools research in New Zealand – and that any approaches that we develop are culturally relevant and appropriate for use on the whenua."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The five-year programme is supported through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Endeavour Fund.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

live
Politics

Watch: Willis to make social investment announcement in pre-Budget speech

14 May 09:46 PM
New Zealand

'Multiple emergency service events': Britomart train station evacuated

14 May 09:26 PM
New Zealand|crime

'Shaken': Worker threatened with weapon as two bottle stores robbed

14 May 09:18 PM

Connected workers are safer workers 

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Watch: Willis to make social investment announcement in pre-Budget speech
live

Watch: Willis to make social investment announcement in pre-Budget speech

14 May 09:46 PM

'We can do much much better here.'

'Multiple emergency service events': Britomart train station evacuated

'Multiple emergency service events': Britomart train station evacuated

14 May 09:26 PM
'Shaken': Worker threatened with weapon as two bottle stores robbed

'Shaken': Worker threatened with weapon as two bottle stores robbed

14 May 09:18 PM
'Reality of change': 106yo school in path of new highway faces relocation

'Reality of change': 106yo school in path of new highway faces relocation

14 May 09:15 PM
The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head
sponsored

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP