New Taieri Mouth trapping ‘library’ receives council grant

Taieri Mouth trappers standing outside the site of the proposed predator trap library. Photo / Gerard O'Brien

A new trapping “library” could lead to possum, rat and stoat traps sited in every backyard in Taieri Mouth.

The Taieri Mouth Amenities Society has been awarded a grant of $37,000 by the Otago Regional Council (ORC) to establish a predator trap library.

The library will be run by the Taieri Mouth Trappers, a group of locals set on encouraging those new to trapping and showing them how to use traps.

Taieri Mouth Trappers co-founder Elaine Slater said receiving the grant meant they could put some action behind the project.

“We’ve got lots of native birds around but we also see evidence of them being targeted by some of these predator species.

“We’d really love to have pretty much every backyard in the Taieri Mouth village and surrounding areas trapping so we can really make a difference and give the birds and trees a chance to thrive.

“It’s also a great way for the community to come together — I think it’s got some real good social benefit as well.”

Earlier in the year, the trappers ran a community survey to determine the best way to support people borrowing traps, and more than 70 per cent of respondents said they were keen to borrow traps.

Fifty per cent said they would do more trapping but were not confident enough.

Slater said the library would help expand this skill base.

The library would provide between 500 to 600 traps and tracking tunnels to catch possums, stoats, rats, ferrets and weasels, she said.

The traps would help keep numbers down while the tunnels would allow people to identify which predators were visiting their backyards.

The trappers would encourage people to keep a list of what they trapped, Slater said.

People could also seek advice about where to correctly place traps.

The traps did not kill.

Amenities Society president Jocelyn Lindner said the library would be a boost for the community.

“It’s really amazing to see community members with a similar interest coming together.”

“This trapping is so beneficial to the diversity, the ecosystem and the native wildlife.”

The trappers were one of 32 successful groups throughout Otago who were the recipients of the ORC’s eco and incentives funds — a total of $536,000 to aid with environmental work.

Additional incentive funds that had been ring-fenced included $100,000 for sustained rabbit management, $50,000 for native planting after wilding pine removal and $30,000 for native planting for water quality.

The Taieri Mouth Trappers hope to have the library up and running by spring.