Sunday, 01 March 2015 00:00

1080 drop knocks stoats in Otago

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 A 1080 poison drop in the Blue Mountains, Otago, has knocked rodent and stoat numbers down to “undetectable levels”, says OSPRI, which runs the TBfree scheme.

 OSPRI teamed up with DOC in the Blue Mountains, as part of the Battle for our Birds campaign.

 Stoat numbers “fell dramatically: monitoring by tracking tunnels showed stoats at undetectable levels (0%) compared to 38% in November last year prior to the aerial pest kill operation”.

 Tracking results also showed rats and mice had dropped to 0% in the treatment area from rates of 10% and 30%, respectively, says Brent Rohloff, OSPRI’s southern South Island programme manager.

 The Blue Mountains is a TB risk area, where infected wild animals have been found. 

 “The Blue Mountains operation shows we have the skills and capability to stamp out TB in wild animals and [support] biodiversity gains,” says Rohloff.

 DOC spokeswoman Ros Cole said the TBfree operation was welcomed at a time when DOC was busy with other Battle for our Birds pest control work in the South Island.

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