Kaitake farmland a possum-free zone
It’s been five months since a possum was last detected across almost 1,000 hectares of Kaitake farmland in Taranaki.
An aerial operation to control possum numbers in the Silver Peaks, an area of rough forest and tussock and scrub covered hill country near Dunedin, will get underway this month.
The TBfree programme aims to control and eventually eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) from New Zealand by 2055 with a combination of comprehensive pest management, TB testing for cattle and deer and stock movement control.
OSPRI’s Southern South Island programme manager Brent Rohloff said the Silver Peaks aerial operation, covering approximately 8,600 hectares and including the Silver Stream catchment, was entirely weather dependent but scheduled to start this month.
Monitoring had shown that control work was needed in the Silver Peaks area to reduce the possum population and minimise the risk of the disease spreading through wild animal populations to farmed cattle and deer. To eradicate bovine TB, possum numbers need to be kept extremely low – around one to two animals every 10 hectares.
The Silver Peaks block was last aerially treated in 2011. The Silver Stream portion has not received aerial control before.
There are strict safety, quality assurance and monitoring requirements around the use of 1080 when applied either by hand or aerially, and dog owners are reminded to keep their animals well away from areas where warning signs indicate that toxic baits will be present.
“Warning signs will be erected at all likely public access points to the area before the application of toxic bait begins. It is important that the public adhere to the instructions on these warning signs,” says Rohloff.
“Dog owners are reminded to keep their animals well away from areas where warning signs are present. It will not be safe to take dogs into the area until all of the signs have been officially removed.”
OSPRI helps protect and enhance the reputation of New Zealand’s primary industries. It manages the NAIT and TBfree programmes.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
For Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms, the decision to open the service to those in rural areas is a personal one.
The golden age of orcharding in West Auckland was recently celebrated at the launch of a book which tells the story of its rise, then retreat in the face of industry change and urban expansion.
OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…
OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.