Thread: The state of pest populations in NZ

Originally Posted by MB

Personally, I think goats are an under-appreciated resource. They are a good quarry for the novice hunter and the young animals make reasonable eating. I don't think we should be wiping them out as recreational hunters. Obviously, if a farmer has requested that as many animals as possible are removed from private land then that's a different matter.

Dont think you need to worry about that. DOC been trying to wipe them out for years and gave up.
Some areas here no goat control anymore apart from hunters and if out of control cullers come in but never going to wipe those out. I shoot some when i see them, sometimes take meat, sometimes not.
Depends but good to keep the pop down a little but always goats in goat areas around here no matter how hard you hunt it.
Now got a 223 think some hunting trips will be solely for goats for a change

Rats, mice, stoats, feral cats and dogs, comments?

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

Rats, mice, stoats, feral cats and dogs, comments?

The mentioned life style blocks !around where I am, pest numbers have decreased because of a few committed people, but also a community program call pestbusters, which is part of the landcare group here.
But still hard to get people on board ! Some don't like firearms even on the committee, some dont like poisoning.
I can only speak for myself, I just go about in retirement and deal to the problem.
My son and I got in at 2:30am with 8 rabbits and near a 1kg or fur.
I know I am not talking big rabbit numbers, but it's progress on small blocks and keeps this old hunter busy and enjoying a night out.
Numbers increase! if we do nothing.
KH

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

Rats, mice, stoats, feral cats and dogs, comments?

Certainly seen a increase in rats, always see some run across the road in the early morning now and seen the odd one and mice in the bush. Havnt seen many stoats.
Havnt seen that many wild cats either as once

Originally Posted by Woody

"Government subsidy"? Taxpayers pay? Taxpayer subsidy but fa hunting access?
Like the DoC heirarchy refusing me tuckrr air drop to help me create a decent access route into an area holding deer, then the following year they airdrop thousands of hectares of food (poisoned food) for animsls and birds ! Go figure.

Poison drops targeting birds???? I have never heard of such a thing happening in NZ. Was it a DOC operation? Were they targeting introduced birds on DOC managed land? Please enlighten us. This sounds to be a new sort of pest control no one has heard of before?

In the last 12mths shooting on a high country station, we've taken over 12K rabbits and 2K wallaby off plus many cats and ferrets.
Numbers have been huge due to ECAN releasing the K5 virus then locking the place up to monitor its effect.....(zip to fuck all). And now they're complaining there's too many pests and farmers have to do something immediately or else.

Unfortunately the NZ managing body of the farming group has now seen fit to ban ALL shooting on the properties they look after.
The MD's whole plan was to poison as he hates hunters.
Farm managers and workers are not happy as it means huge areas not usable for many months, then high stock losses once stock can return, and they can't use their dogs without muzzles etc.

Originally Posted by Hiawatha

Poison drops targeting birds???? I have never heard of such a thing happening in NZ. Was it a DOC operation? Were they targeting introduced birds on DOC managed land? Please enlighten us. This sounds to be a new sort of pest control no one has heard of before?

Dont be a dick. You should know by now the insectivores are hit by 1080 as by kill of aerial poison.

My my you are a sensitive soul ay. I was merely having a bit of fun, given that you were making statements that may not necessarily be correct to sound like fact. You should expect to be called out on that. There is enough emotive clap trap around already on both sides without us adding to it ay. And when you say 'know by now', actually I have been observing things quite closely and unemotionally for some time, and there seems to me to be more bird life in areas treated regularly by 1080 than not. Certainly not less, that is for sure. This is an observation backed up by other hunters I know who travel widely across NZ. None of us like the thought of aerial toxins or even any toxin per se, but seem to be observing the same things. We have also observed a difference in bird life simply between different habitat types. Too many of us look for visible and physical proof to back up our initial emotional response and feelings. That is what is called 'anti science'. I do of course have absolutely no issue with you hating aerial poison. That is your right, as it is mine.

And to get back to the thread's main theme. Everywhere I go and work at the moment the people are talking about a huge amount more rabbits about this year. I think it is a seasonal thing backed up by a high survival rate of breeders coming through the winter. We are also seeing rats and mice in the bush during daylight hours which is a good indicator of abundance, though very rough as a measuring tool. I and friends are seeing a lot of stoats about at the moment, though this is dispersal time for young ones leaving the nest. They are also dumb and hungry and more visible during daylight hours too. I am also seeing way more deer on private land now than five years ago. If nothing changes there may well be a reckoning for deer on private land in another five or ten. On public land, the numbers seem to be quite variable. In bush country there are plenty deer about, as they get less pressure now than ever. Apart from aerial poison. The impacts of that on deer herds seems to vary place by place too. Few people seem to hunt the public land bush and tracts of country with few open places seem to hold good numbers of deer. And goats. A million in some places and stuff all in others. They breed back quickly though. Possums the same.

Access is key. Good and granted access allows various options to be used and exploited. Private industry has always shown initiative and pretty quickly identified economies. It is regrettable that govrtment has placed disincentives on several utilization attempts on rabbit and possum products over time. Also various restrictions on access. Some but not all landholders as well. The old mantra that trappers and hunters "farm" the wild animals is mostly untrue. One only has to look at the heyday of wild venison commercial recovery to understand that. Goverment needs to take a hard look at the wide picture, but dont hold your breath.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have."

Originally Posted by sightpicture

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have."

Interesting duality to that statement.

Private enterprise and good access are the ways forward. Governnent are better at hindering than helping the solution in many instances.

I know that in some cases professionals are needed to reduce numbers down to very low levels or do it in places where others don't want to go. But put a dollar on something and watch them change their minds I like the idea of game being used and not left to rot as well as providing extra income. If we could be a bit more reasonable about pet food requirements imagine the number of rabbits and hares people could bring in. How hard would it be to certify providers and require head shot animals only? The biggest issue currently seems to be the amount of brodi everywhere. You just cant escape it and find somewhere free of it! A study revealed brodi residues in wildlife everywhere and it didn't matter whether they were from brodi areas or not. There is so much used and so widely it is in the system. In pig areas when used where there are good possums numbers it nails pigs too. To be frank there are many areas I would not eat pork from now. I think that pig hunters are still unaware of the risks from this. Granted more in organs but still not good.

Originally Posted by Woody

Access is key. Good and granted access allows various options to be used and exploited. Private industry has always shown initiative and pretty quickly identified economies. It is regrettable that govrtment has placed disincentives on several utilization attempts on rabbit and possum products over time. Also various restrictions on access. Some but not all landholders as well. The old mantra that trappers and hunters "farm" the wild animals is mostly untrue. One only has to look at the heyday of wild venison commercial recovery to understand that. Goverment needs to take a hard look at the wide picture, but dont hold your breath.

Woody, the highlighted statement honestly does not take into account human nature and greed. I don't think it is so much a question of "farming" them, but very little in traditional trapping regimes incentivizes trappers to completely eradicate pests. It is a short-sighted business model...

If near eradication and long term monitoring was part of the model, it might be a different proposition. The traditional regime also fails to address the issues around trapping remote and inhospitable areas, or those with harder access.