Thread: The state of pest populations in NZ

Originally Posted by Woody

Access is key. Good and granted access allows various options to be used and exploited. Private industry has always shown initiative and pretty quickly identified economies. It is regrettable that govrtment has placed disincentives on several utilization attempts on rabbit and possum products over time. Also various restrictions on access. Some but not all landholders as well. The old mantra that trappers and hunters "farm" the wild animals is mostly untrue. One only has to look at the heyday of wild venison commercial recovery to understand that. Goverment needs to take a hard look at the wide picture, but dont hold your breath.

Woody, the highlighted statement honestly does not take into account human nature and greed. I don't think it is so much a question of "farming" them, but very little in traditional trapping regimes incentivizes trappers to completely eradicate pests. It is a short-sighted business model...

If near eradication and long term monitoring was part of the model, it might be a different proposition. The traditional regime also fails to address the issues around trapping remote and inhospitable areas, or those with harder access.