The Wildside

Extended Wildside operations…

Extended Wildside (~ 23,000 hectares): Elimination of possums and suppression of feral cats, mustelids, and rats in areas of
high biodiversity.
Our 23,000-hectare elimination programme is complex!
The hardy field team cut many kilometres of track through gorse to ensure we can get access. We are actively working with landowners to ensure that permissions are in place and to map things like water takes for the Te Whatu Ora/ Ministry of Health applications.

We started installing bait stations and beginning the knockdown operation in November 2022. We have had outstanding results in the knockdown area. By the end of March 2023, the first 800 hectares south of Akaroa had an active network of bait stations which had begun the heavy lifting of the possum knockdown.

AT220 self-resetting traps are being used as a trap buffer to enable us to ‘hold the line’ once possums are eliminated from the target area. These traps automatically lure and can self-reset after a possum has been trapped. This enables us to only need to revisit the trap about every four months – a real game changer.