Hon Eugenie Sage
Minister of Conservation
EMBARGOED 21 March 2018 10am
Million Dollar Mouse successfully eradicates mice from Antipodes Island
In a world-leading conservation effort, mice have been successfully eradicated from Antipodes Island in the New Zealand
Subantarctic, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today.
Million Dollar Mouse, a joint initiative between the Department of Conservation (DOC) and funding partners the Morgan
Foundation, WWF-New Zealand, Island Conservation and public supporters, has successfully delivered one of the most
complex island eradication projects ever undertaken.
“This is huge news for conservation both in New Zealand and internationally,” Ms Sage said.
“Special plants and wildlife, including 21 species of breeding seabirds, more than 150 species of insects - 17 per cent
of them only found on the Antipodes; 21 uncommon plant species and four unique land birds are found on the Antipodes
Island. They can now thrive with mice no longer preying on the insects or competing with the land birds.”
The Minister visited Antipodes Island aboard the HMNZS Wellington in February when the outcome monitoring team were
dropped off to review whether the winter 2016 baiting operation was successful.
During her visit, she saw first-hand the challenges the project faced, including remoteness, scale, and difficult
terrain.
“The successful Antipodes Island mouse eradication is another landmark conservation achievement which underlines DOC’s
technical expertise in pest control and threatened species protection.
“Seeing so many Antipodean and Reischek’s parakeets, pipits and insects flourishing on what is now a predator-free
island is a tribute to the ambition, planning, dedication and skills of everyone involved from the helicopter pilots and
bait crews in 2016 to the monitoring team this year.”
Led by DOC’s Finlay Cox, the monitoring team searched the island for almost a month and found no sign of mice. They were
assisted by three rodent detecting dogs from the Conservation Dogs programme, supported by Kiwibank and Auckland City
Council. They returned to Dunedin yesterday.
DOC’s Island Eradication Advisory Group (IEAG) has declared the Antipodes Island officially mouse free.
DOC Project Manager Stephen Horn said work started on the project in 2014, but planning started much earlier.
“The success of this project was built on the lessons and experience from many other island eradications in New Zealand
and abroad. The Subantarctic islands are remote, but the role they play in global conservation as the home for so many
unique species can’t be overstated,” he said.
“This success is not down to any single organisation or country and thanks must go to everyone involved, particularly
the New Zealand public. Their donations and belief in the outcome got this project off the ground.”
ends