Rats, possums and Hamilton’s native biodiversity

All too often the focus of predator control is on protecting our native birds and often a single bird species. This results in a management plan that is designed around the birds nesting period. A common practice is pulsing where rat populations are knocked down using baits in the lead up to and during nesting, after which control is withheld until the next season. This allows the rat population to build up again. In an uncontrolled area a single pair of rats can be responsible for producing up to 2000 rats in a season when considering the multiplying effect of their off spring. While there is a place for this strategy it has no place in Hamilton City where the whole native ecosystem must be targeted for protection. An effective pest control plan against rats and possums needs to be put in place city wide that embraces baits for rats in natural areas and leave rat traps for the urban back yards. The accompanying photo of a display at the Auckland War Museum is a good example of where our invertebrate fauna has all too often been neglected and has been decimated by rats into extinction. Creepy crawlies have no public profile but are still an important part of our ecosystem and need year round protection. In the July 30th Listener Veronika Meduna’s review of the book Rewilding the Sea by Charles Clover sums it up well “Clover acknowledges the work of Bill Ballantine, the late ocean-conservation pioneer who fought to create the world’s first no-take marine reserve at Leigh, north of Auckland, and was a strong proponent of ecosystem thinking - as opposed to many conservation efforts on land, which focus on fragmented species rather than habitats”. Click on photo to enlarge.