New Plymouth possum campaign expands

10 November 2014

Householders in Welbourn, Vogeltown, Brooklands and Highlands Park are being targeted in an expansion of New Plymouth’s urban possum control programme.

After starting earlier this year in surburbs bordering the Waiwhakaiho River, the Taranaki Regional Council is expanding the programme to the catchments of Te Henui and Huatoki Streams (see map).

Click for big version.

“The New Plymouth District Council already carries out possum control in parks, reserves and walkways,” says Taranaki Regional Council’s Environment Services Manager, Steve Ellis. “Under our programme, we work with residents to establish a network of possum control on private land to fill in the gaps.”

Participation is voluntary but Mr Ellis says community involvement is essential if the programme is to succeed.

“Controlling possums benefits native birds, vegetation, insects and other native animals such as lizards,” he says. “The programme will also reduce possum damage to private gardens and orchards in the area.”

Under the programme, skilled contractors work with residents to choose a safe and efficient control method for their property. There are signs in key places to advise the public of the programme, control methods and any precautions they need to take.

The Taranaki Regional Council meets all of the costs of the initial possum control on private properties and then supports residents in the programme to maintain possum control.

In the first stage of the programme, control took place on 92 properties in the Waiwhakaiho catchment, accounting for an estimated 85% of the possum habitat. Subsequent monitoring has revealed a significant reduction in possum numbers. (In built-up areas, possum numbers are calculated by using wax tags, scented blocks of wax which possums bite then abandon. The possum ‘bite rate’ on a line of wax tags in the Waiwhakaiho catchment reduced from 7.5% to 2.1% after urban control took place.)

A leaflet is being distributed in the new areas with information on the programme and how people can become involved in it. For more information, call the Taranaki Regional Council on 0800 736 222, email biosecurity@trc.govt.nz, or see the web page at www.trc.govt.nz/new-plymouth-urban-possum-control

ENDS

© Scoop Media