Hon Eugenie Sage

Minister of Conservation
Minita mō Te Papa Atawhai

New predator-control drones to help nature in hard-to-reach places

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is investing $790,000 to test a new predator-control drone and take another step towards a predator free Aotearoa, the Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today.

“Restoring nature so indigenous species can thrive requires new tools and technologies for predator control in a way that is humane, safe, effective and affordable.

“Drones have the potential to be a game-changer – in helping remove pests from remote offshore islands, respond to pest incursions and suppress predators on mainland New Zealand. They may become another of the broad range of tools available to the Department of Conservation (DOC) and landholders to manage predators and restore New Zealand’s unique natural landscapes.

Predator-control drones have not previously been used in New Zealand. Kiwi startup Environment & Conservation Technologies (ECT) will test how the drone performs in a series of field trials, using a new light-weight bait spreader to apply non-toxic cereal baits over areas between 600 to 2000ha.

DOC’s Tools to Market programme will invest $790,000 in the drone proposal.

“It will look at the feasibility and costs of drone use for predator control, as well as potential savings in carbon emissions from current aerial methods.

“This Government is supporting innovative Kiwi companies such as ECT to develop the technology of the future to bring back our native wildlife,” Eugenie Sage said.

Background information

DOC received 56 applications following a call for registrations of interest in the department’s Tools to Market in May last year. Other proposals are still being considered.

In Budget 2018 this Government committed $700,000 per year over four years for Tools to Market to improve current predator control tools. This built on an initial allocation of $700,000 per year over four years as part of Predator Free 2050. Five projects have been funded and began in 2017 including a long-life rat lure, now at a commercial phase, and an automatic pest detection device (PAWS).

Tools to Market funding is closely aligned with Predator Free 2050 Ltd’s investment in predator eradication tools and technology through its Products to Projects programme, backed by the Provincial Growth Fund.

New Zealand-based ECT develops automated technology and provides drones for use in environmental projects around the world. Last year the company used drones to remove rats from two islands in the Galapagos working with international Island Conservation. ECT is also redesigning the Spitfire toxin delivery device to control stoats and possums, funded by Predator Free 2050 Ltd.

The project involves three trials, which will be complete in 2022. The field trials will follow rigorous safety standards and get Civil Aviation Authority approvals for each stage of the project. The proposal is a ‘proof of concept’ to test the capability to the drone to apply cereal bait and assess feasibility and costs.

Using drones will not mean more 1080 drops. DOC’s aerial 1080 predator control programme is determined by the needs of our native species, predator numbers, environmental conditions such as forest masts and budgets. Any use of a drone to apply 1080 cereal bait would need to meet the same rigorous standards under current regulations as helicopter application.

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