Media Release

20 November 2013

Positive report on Pests with a hint of peanut butter

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s Environment and Services Committee today received a sound annual report on Biosecurity Operations with a view to adding feral cats, stoats and ferrets to the current control of possums, in a trial area.

HBRC’s annual report on its biosecurity programme covers possums, rooks and plant pests.  The budget for the period was $7.2 million with an additional $5.2 managed on behalf of the Animal Health Board’s bovine tuberculosis initiative.

Initial possum control has now been carried out on over 97% of all rateable land (approximately 1 million hectares) and is 3 years ahead of the 2016 target set in 2001.  This result is largely due to the significant support given by the farming community over the last 8-10 years.  Annual maintenance costs for the farm-based PCA programme are around $2 a hectare.  Overall the trap catch rate is one of the lowest in New Zealand. But while complacency regarding regular maintenance is a risk, HBRC staff are doing additional monitoring on at-risk properties, providing additional resources to land users where needed, supporting research into the best long-term control and following up with enforcement action where needed.

The report was positively received by the Environment and Services Committee with numerous questions posed by those present.  Committee chairman, Councillor Rex Graham, was supportive of the results achieved through the biosecurity team.

“This is a really good report and I recommend the team that does this practical and effective work in Hawke’s Bay,” says Cr Graham.

“To see tuis increase three-fold is an excellent result and it’s wonderful to see more native birds back in our gardens.”

Part of the report detailed a means of significantly lowering the cost of possum control, maintaining low numbers using peanut butter flavoured chew cards over the traditional ‘trap catch’ method.  Chew cards are an effective means of monitoring populations and if successful could reduce maintenance costs by 50-80%.  The chew card approach will be trialled and reported back to council at a future meeting.

Rook numbers have also declined rapidly since the current control programme started in 2001.  Farmers have been very cooperative and key to the eradication of rooks, with an aim to eliminate these pest birds north of SH5, the Napier-Taupo Road, and control them south of SH5.

Rabbit populations are now largely resistant to the control virus RHD and control may be needed in some areas.  A 900 hectare operation was carried out within Cape Sanctuary and adjacent properties this year to lower the population.  Advice for control on large and smaller-scale areas can be sought from HBRC’s trained animal pest management team.

HBRC’s urban biodiversity programme, or HuB with a focus on pest management, now covers more than 10,000 hectares with visible results; tui numbers have tripled and bellbird doubled within the operational areas. 

The urban privet programme costs have lowered and reduction of this nuisance plant has increased.  Staff are investigating the links between privet and health issues, using allergy tests.  Pinus contorta was also removed from 90 hectares of multiple-ownership Māori land at Rangitaiki.

Biosecurity staff also reported on the Regional Phytosanitary Pest Management Strategy which is specific to the pip fruit sector.  This strategy has been effective in enabling Hawke’s Bay Fruit Growers to influence the management of abandoned and derelict orchards, without HBRC intervention.   HBRC will work with fruit, grape, berry and vegetable grower groups to identify the most appropriate way to deliver more effective biosecurity risk management for their crops and sectors.

ENDS

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