Thread: Has 1080 by kill struck again

Graeme, fenced sanctuaries are not caged zoos, they need to be open at the top to allow birds to come and go... Sometimes a tree falls on the fence, sometimes a bird brings in a pest animal, all of those factors are part and parcel of managing and running a fenced sanctuary.

The one that I am involved with has an annual program of pest control (mainly mice) using bait stations. Also constant monitoring using tracking tunnels etc to ensure that any pests are identified as soon as possible.

From first hand experience, I can tell you that the most surprising thing for me has been the regeneration of the native forrest. Increases in bird numbers is something you'd expect. 600% plus increases in Tui numbers, Kaka numbers increasing rapidly and some of the birds banded here being captured as far as Mt Bruce.

Have not visited Maungatautari yet, scaling the fenced sanctuary concept is something that may or may not work. Orokonui is similar to Karori in size.

I think sanctuaries like these give us tremendous opportunities to compare different pest control methods against each other in a more controlled environment, and also to build on the practical knowledge of what is required for more focused conservation efforts in future. It is also a very good test bed for ironing out partnerships with volunteers and other stakeholders. At any point in time, there are around half a dozen masters and phd students doing research, including the trial of rotenone in running water mentioned earlier (also being used in the western cape in South Africa btw). One of the current projects is to see if robins have the ability to count

Then add onto that the thousands of visitors who get to see very rare species such as takahe, saddleback, tuatara etc, I see quite a lot of positives where others see failures....