Harnessing Community Opportunities to Achieve Large-Scale Possum Control in Rural New Zealand

The brush-tailed possum is an introduced mammalian pest from Australia. This ubiquitous, nocturnal animal occupies every suitable habitat throughout New Zealand and causes over $40 million (NZD) per annum of direct damage to the country’s economy. To this must be added the intrinsic values associated with possum damage to the conservation estate and native flora and fauna. Rural landowners arguably suffer the greatest effects of possums through grass loss resulting in competition with stock, and the possibility of bovine tuberculosis being spread by possums to farmed cattle and deer. In the upper North Island, the Waikato Regional Council (also known as Environment Waikato) has developed a fresh approach to working with rural landowners to achieve effective and sustainable possum control over large (20,000 ha plus) areas of private and government owned lands. There are currently 12 schemes managed, covering in total 155,000 ha and involving over 770 landowners. The procedure for implementing schemes is necessarily comprehensive but flexible enough to have seen seven modifications to the process since 1998. The process is constantly evolving to ensure that control remains effective and meets the expectations of scheme members and the Council. Environment Waikato, having secured a community mandate of at least 75% of support in each proposed area, undertakes and funds initial control to a predetermined residual trap catch density. Leaving landowners to maintain low possum numbers themselves through trapping, shooting, and poisoning techniques has not proved sustainable in the long-term. Now, maintenance work is carried out by professional contractors and funded by landowners through a targeted property rate (dollars per ha owned). Such an approach has produced significant results, better utilizes contractor time and expertise, and frees farmers up to concentrate on their core task of farming