Predator Free 2050 Limited is partnering with the private sector to create the next generation of predator control tools.

“We are excited to be working with some very clever Kiwi designers and entrepreneurs who are keen to contribute to the Predator Free 2050 mission,” says Predator Free 2050 Limited Chief Executive Ed Chignell.

Backed by the Provincial Growth Fund, the Crown-owned charitable company today announced $3.5m in funding to enable five companies to produce innovative lures, traps and toxin delivery devices.

They will be designed, assembled and trialled in regional centres.

A Spitfire toxin delivery device is being re-designed from a prototype by Environment and Conservation Technology (ECT) in Tauranga. The device has sensor pads and sprays a small dose of liquid toxin onto a possum or stoat’s abdomen which is licked off in grooming.

The Hammerforce trap will incorporate a patented air valve system already used on New Zealand-designed nail guns into trap architectures, with assembly and distribution planned for Whangarei.

NZ AutoTraps is perfecting a battery-powered mechanical system which resets and rebaits a possum and rat trap 100 times and is currently setting up new production facilities in Whakatane.

Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) is developing and field testing an automated lure dispenser, innovative rat and stoat trap, electronic transmitter, LoRa-Iridium satellite box and webserver suited to detecting and responding to predator reinvasions in remote locations like the West Coast.

Boffa Miskell Ltd is developing new scent treatments to make cost-effective biodegradable plastic polymer blocks highly attractive to pest species over long timeframes, to be manufactured and distributed in Rotorua.

The new tools will be used in large predator control projects funded by Predator Free 2050 Limited, expand the range of options available for conservation managers and community groups around the country, and have the potential to reach global markets.
Additional products will be announced in the New Year.

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