Five new trapping tools unveiled to achieve Predator Free 2050 mission
Thursday, 21 November 2019
A trap which gases rats, possums and stoats is amongst five new deadly trapping tools to kill off the country's worst critter criminals.
The new artillery includes a trap using nail gun technology, an air-powered self-resetting trap and one with mayonnaise and egg bait, electronic transmitter and satellite.
The announcement comes after a mega-mast year which created a pest boom, including a 'mice plague' in Arthur's Pass and 'Monster rats' in Wellington.
NZ Auto Traps business manager George Campbell created one of the traps which made the cut, the AT220 Auto Rebait Reset Trap.
**READ MORE:
* 'Biggest mice plague in five years'
* 'Monster rats' in Wellington the size of small possums**
The trap isn't to be messed with - it will kill a stoat in about 60 seconds or less.
It mechanically resets 100 times using a pump, and it can be left unattended for up to 12 months, Campbell said.
Assembly is planned for Whakatane, and their team of two employees would expand to five next year, he said.
'We've been making 100 a month in our little workshop, and we're working up to 400.'
A trap being developed by Zero Invasive Predators uses an egg and mayonnaise bait in an automated dispenser.
The pest gets trapped inside a long tunnel, where it is gassed with CO2.
A self-resetting and air-powered trap being developed by Hammerforce Limited, uses the same technology as nail guns.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said the tools were part of a wider shift from 'suppressing predators to eradicating them'.
'I look forward to seeing the impact these new products have on enabling native wildlife to flourish.'
The tools will be developed and then deployed in large-scale projects funded by Predator Free 2050 in Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Otago and other regions.
The $3.5m has been set aside out of a total $19.5m investment from the Provincial Growth Fund to expand predator control and find products which reduce the need for repeated 1080 use.
Predator Free 2050 Limited received 63 applications for new product developments and further design ideas were being assessed for funding.
The traps were a step towards a predator free future, Regional Economic Development under-secretary Fletcher Tabuteau said.
The funding was a new approach to protecting natural taonga and brought tens of thousands of hectares of rural and forested land under predator control, he said.
THE TOOLS
1. The Spitfire Trap, re-engineered by Environment & Conservation Technologies Limited of Tauranga. A liquid toxin delivery device designed for possums and stoats able to be left in the field for a year.
2. The Hammerforce Trap, developed by Hammerforce Limited of Auckland. An air-powered, multi-species trap which is self-resetting and allows for multiple kills per gas refill. Assembly is planned for Whangarei.
3. The AT220 Auto Rebait Reset Trap, developed by NZ Autotraps Limited of Hamilton. A rat and possum trap which mechanically resets 100 times and can be left unattended for up to 12 months. Assembly is planned for Whakatane.
4. The Remove and Protect System, developed by Zero Invasive Predators Limited of Wellington. A precision rat and stoat trap, automated lure dispenser, electronic transmitter and satellite box to remotely monitor and respond to predator reinvasions in remote areas.
5. Long-life lures developed by Boffa Miskell, a nationwide company. Low cost lures made of biodegradable plastic blocks which can remain attractive to predators for months. They will be manufactured and distributed from Rotorua and other regional centres.