Why ‘cute' pets are now included in pest management plan

RNZ News

20-06-2025

The red-eared slider turtle is capable of growing to the size of a dinner plate.
Photo:
Supplied/ NZME- Doug Sherring
Bay of Plenty turtle owners must now securely house their pets, as the regional council changes its pest plan to prevent escapees.
While unlikely to form a sewer-dwelling gang of martial arts fighters, escaped or released pets can harm ecosystems and native species.
The Regional Pest Management Plan sets the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's priorities and goals for managing animal and pest plants, and includes rules to comply with the Biosecurity Act.
A recent council review has seen new species added as pests and changes to how others are categorised.
As of this week, all wallaby species known to be in the country and all introduced turtles will be included.
Biosecurity team leader Shane Grayling said the pest management landscape was "ever changing".
"The pests included in the [plan] and the ways to manage them have recently been reconsidered to reflect emerging pest issues."
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has adopted new rules for turtles, wallabies, and invasive exotic species of seaweed and freshwater clams.
Photo:
Collage/ NZME and supplied
Turtles were included in the plan for the first time, covering all introduced freshwater types.
Consultation on the topic showed split views on the need to manage turtles.
Some submitters asked for introduced turtles to be included in the eradication programme, rather than sustained control. Some wanted a ban on the sale and breeding of them, while others did not believe turtles caused adverse environmental effects that needed managing.
Grayling said climate change and the Rotorua area's warm geothermal soils increased the likelihood turtles could successfully breed in the wild. This included red-eared slider turtles, which have been found abandoned and breeding in Bay of Plenty waterways.
Katikati reptile breeders Donna and Graeme Hannah, who have worked to raise awareness of the issue, told SunLive last year they were often called by people who found abandoned turtles.
"They start off cute around the size of a 50c piece," Graeme Hannah said, but they could live 50 years and grow to the size of a dinner plate, needing more maintenance, and a bigger tank or pond, leading owners to abandon them.
Sightings reported to the regional council included a female found nesting in Tauranga's Gordon Carmichael Reserve with 16 eggs.
The turtles feed on small fish, plants, kōura (freshwater crayfish) and small birds such as ducklings, degrade water quality by disrupting the ecosystem, and displace wetland birds by taking over nesting sites.
Under the new regional rules, turtle sales could continue, but pet owners needed to house them securely to prevent escape.
"There have been instances previously where there has been no barrier around a pond to prevent the turtle from relocating elsewhere," Grayling said.
He said, anecdotally, there had been increased reports of turtle sightings throughout the Bay of Plenty during the past couple of years. Most were red-eared sliders.
Turtles were "inherently difficult to catch" and therefore controlling them was challenging.
The council would respond to reported sightings in the wild and consider options for control on a case-by-case basis.
"The focus for council, particularly in the short term, will be on education and advocacy for responsible turtle ownership."
All wallaby species found in New Zealand are now included in the plan.
Photo:
Supplied via Local Democracy Reporting: The Rotorua Daily Post/ Andrew Warner
The pre-amended plan only listed the dama wallaby as a pest, but Grayling said the need to include all known species found in New Zealand was identified, after the parma wallaby was discovered around the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes in 2023.
Dama and parma were now listed under the progressive containment and eradication programme. Other species not known to be in the Bay of Plenty were under the exclusion programme.
"The amendment is a technical one, and there is no change in how wallaby control is managed or funded," Grayling said.
Efforts to control wallaby spread were funded with $1 million this year under the International Visitor Levy, including work in the Te Arawa area.
Exotic caulerpa - a pest seaweed - was also included in the plan to minimise the risk of it entering the region. It has been described as the country's most serious marine biosecurity invasion in a lifetime.
Corbicula - invasive exotic freshwater clams - were also listed as exclusionary pests.
Other changes in the plan included treating certain species of conifers as pests, regardless of whether they were deliberately planted.
The amendments prohibited new plantings of these species to ensure that the region's biodiversity was protected from the potential impact of pines growing in the wild.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.