Described as ‘New Zealand’s largest feral goat eradication’, Pest Free Banks Peninsula has achieved total eradication of feral goats across a 45,000-hectare area of Banks Peninsula.
This achievement was enabled by more than 300 private landowners, and supported by a range of community conservation organisations, councils, government agencies and rūnanga.
“Our elimination programmes are all about empowering communities to take back control of their ‘backyard biodiversity’. Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills are renowned Canterbury icons, they support our economy, they offer multiple recreation opportunities, they attract tourism, and perhaps most essentially, they are an important cultural and biodiverse environment,” said Project Lead, Sarah Wilson.
“At its essence, eliminating pests requires a relentlessness, boots-on-the-ground practical approach. But its long-term success is all about strategy – being innovative in our approach, recognising the connected elements of our environment and engaging with our community, who are vital contributors and recipients of this work.”
Pest Free Banks Peninsula is a community-led, multi-agency programme, which is delivered by the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust. Its on-ground actions aim to progressively eliminate mammalian pests from Banks Peninsula, including the Port Hills, and Kaitōrete, and by doing so, protect and enhance existing biodiversity.
Find out more: Pest Free Banks Peninsula – Pest Free Banks Peninsula_Strategy
