Latest news with #PredatorFree
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Cameras donated to Predator Free
Timaru Rotary Club member Lionel Wilson (left) and owner of 2040 Ltd Shaun Ryan are all smiles at the prospect of a predator-free Timaru while picking up the AI cameras last week are. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Big brother is always watching. At least for the pests in and around Centennial Park and the Highfield Golf Course. Six AI cameras have been gifted to Predator Free Timaru from the Timaru Rotary Club. Predator Free committee member Tim Exton said he was "absolutely thrilled" with the donation. Mr Exton said during the day the cameras monitored bird sound and bird life, and at night they worked as a thermal camera, being able to identify pests. He said trapping was a science, but if people were unsure what they were trying to trap then it was not much good. As one predator was removed from the area, then another one might become more prevalent. As an example, where Mr Exton had trapped along the river, it had shown when stoats were removed, weasels moved in. Trapping their food source could result in them "prey switching" from rabbits to potentially a native prey. He said the cameras assisting trapping should see a change in birds around the areas, including more native species like tui and kereru. He said cameras would help them identify their successes and their failures. Rotary Club spokesman Lionel Wilson said that as part of a weekend of connection among Rotary groups across the region earlier this year, 120 traps were made. Those traps had been placed in backyards around the golf course and the park. Mr Wilson said Predator Free Timaru members were "busy people" so when he saw an advertisement come up for Every Corner Project, which was run by Air New Zealand he was quick to apply. The project aimed to give money to groups that were helping the environment. The project had 640 applications for the $1.2 million of funding. When they were selected as one of the 100 projects to be given funding, Mr Wilson said the club used the $10,343.10 to purchase six cameras and batteries. Mr Exton said, "Lionel's great, he's got time and knowledge to do it, and do it successfully. "He has bolstered our work tenfold." While Mr Exton was not a Rotary member he said "I threatened to join them".
Scoop
4 days ago
- General
- Scoop
Hurunui Council Raises Impact Of Feral Cats On Rural Environments
Hurunui District Council is urging the Department of Conservation to consider feral cats in its long-term goal to eliminate harmful predators from the country. Council is submitting on the Predator Free 2050 Strategy Review and the Implementation Plan for Te Mana o te Taiao – Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy 2020. Council's Water and Land Coordinator Rima Herber, on behalf of a Council working group including West Ward councillors Tom Davies, Ross Barnes, and Dave Hislop, presented draft submissions for endorsement at last week's Council meeting. Herber said while the intention of Predator Free 2050 is to remove rats, mustelids and possums from New Zealand by 2050, it was appropriate for Council to advocate for cats to be included in the longer term - along with mice and hedgehogs if technologies became available to make this possible and practical. A first step would be to legislate for domestic cats to be registered, microchipped and desexed. These measures would help reduce the number of stray cats that become feral, Herber said. 'There are an estimated $22.5 million feral cats in New Zealand. As a rural council, Hurunui is very aware of the harm feral cats are doing to indigenous wildlife, and aware of how many cats there are in our environment. 'If feral cats aren't included as a pest species it is questionable if predator removal is worthwhile in some environments.' Hurunui District Mayor Marie Black said feral cats were a major issue in looking after Hurunui's indigenous wildlife and, from a farming perspective, the diseases feral cats carried were a 'massive threat' to domestic stock across the district. Herber said Council broadly supports both strategy reviews but raises several issues for further consideration, including consideration for incentives and support for private landowners, catchment groups, the QEII Trust, and community conservation groups working to both eliminate predators and protect biodiversity. 'Biodiversity protection should not be an added financial burden on landowners.' For community groups, support could be in the form of funding for paid coordinators to optimise work already being carried out in communities. Cr Fiona Harris said many of the district's rural residents and Hurunui farmers had put significant time and effort into indigenous biodiversity protection. 'It's good to see that we recognise that, and support them as well, because for many of them it's a deep money hole doing a lot of this work.' Cr Harris said many in Hurunui's communities and schools were supporting Predator Free initiatives. A coordinator would make a big difference 'because sometimes it's just knowing where to be and who to get in touch with - it's a massive body of work and challenging for the whole country, so we have to optimise what we can'. Herber said it was important to maintain the gains already made in predator control 'as a priority'. 'It is better to secure the areas that are predator free and keep them that way, than spread effort thinly and lose the gains.'
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Biodiversity Credit Won't Fix Damage Done By Luxon Govt
Press Release – Green Party This is a bandaid on a gaping wound which does nothing to address a deepening crisis and runs the risk of being mere greenwashing, says the Green Party spokesperson for Agriculture Steve Abel. The Green Party says the Government's newly announced Biodiversity Credit scheme is a tiny positive that doesn't undo the biodiversity harm caused by the Luxon Government. 'This is a bandaid on a gaping wound which does nothing to address a deepening crisis and runs the risk of being mere greenwashing,' says the Green Party spokesperson for Agriculture Steve Abel. 'While credit schemes and covenants are an important pathway to protecting vital biodiversity on farmland, these alone are not nearly enough to address the biodiversity crisis in Aotearoa. 'One tiny step in the right direction does not make up for the significant damage this Government is doing to the environment in many ways including through cuts to the Predator Free programme, Department of Conservation funding, significant natural area identification, and Jobs for Nature. 'You cannot pretend to care for biodiversity while openly making policy that destroys it, targeting wetlands as a cash cow through tax deductibility, weakening or removing protections for freshwater, and allowing significant pollution to be permitted in our most vulnerable waterways. 'Furthermore, market and corporate driven biodiversity credits can be little more than a greenwashing tool – and there's proven to be very little demand without regulatory requirements for them. 'Protecting biodiversity is in everyone's interests, especially farmers. Our Green Budget proposed significant investment in supporting landowners to protect and restore their environments, rather than leaving it to the corporate world to pick up the slack in light of extensive government cuts,' says Steve Abel.
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Biodiversity Credit Won't Fix Damage Done By Luxon Govt
Press Release – Green Party This is a bandaid on a gaping wound which does nothing to address a deepening crisis and runs the risk of being mere greenwashing, says the Green Party spokesperson for Agriculture Steve Abel. The Green Party says the Government's newly announced Biodiversity Credit scheme is a tiny positive that doesn't undo the biodiversity harm caused by the Luxon Government. 'This is a bandaid on a gaping wound which does nothing to address a deepening crisis and runs the risk of being mere greenwashing,' says the Green Party spokesperson for Agriculture Steve Abel. 'While credit schemes and covenants are an important pathway to protecting vital biodiversity on farmland, these alone are not nearly enough to address the biodiversity crisis in Aotearoa. 'One tiny step in the right direction does not make up for the significant damage this Government is doing to the environment in many ways including through cuts to the Predator Free programme, Department of Conservation funding, significant natural area identification, and Jobs for Nature. 'You cannot pretend to care for biodiversity while openly making policy that destroys it, targeting wetlands as a cash cow through tax deductibility, weakening or removing protections for freshwater, and allowing significant pollution to be permitted in our most vulnerable waterways. 'Furthermore, market and corporate driven biodiversity credits can be little more than a greenwashing tool – and there's proven to be very little demand without regulatory requirements for them. 'Protecting biodiversity is in everyone's interests, especially farmers. Our Green Budget proposed significant investment in supporting landowners to protect and restore their environments, rather than leaving it to the corporate world to pick up the slack in light of extensive government cuts,' says Steve Abel.
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Biodiversity Credit Won't Fix Damage Done By Luxon Govt
The Green Party says the Government's newly announced Biodiversity Credit scheme is a tiny positive that doesn't undo the biodiversity harm caused by the Luxon Government. 'This is a bandaid on a gaping wound which does nothing to address a deepening crisis and runs the risk of being mere greenwashing,' says the Green Party spokesperson for Agriculture Steve Abel. 'While credit schemes and covenants are an important pathway to protecting vital biodiversity on farmland, these alone are not nearly enough to address the biodiversity crisis in Aotearoa. 'One tiny step in the right direction does not make up for the significant damage this Government is doing to the environment in many ways including through cuts to the Predator Free programme, Department of Conservation funding, significant natural area identification, and Jobs for Nature. 'You cannot pretend to care for biodiversity while openly making policy that destroys it, targeting wetlands as a cash cow through tax deductibility, weakening or removing protections for freshwater, and allowing significant pollution to be permitted in our most vulnerable waterways. 'Furthermore, market and corporate driven biodiversity credits can be little more than a greenwashing tool - and there's proven to be very little demand without regulatory requirements for them. 'Protecting biodiversity is in everyone's interests, especially farmers. Our Green Budget proposed significant investment in supporting landowners to protect and restore their environments, rather than leaving it to the corporate world to pick up the slack in light of extensive government cuts,' says Steve Abel.
