Strategy to achieve predator free New Zealand by 2050 announced by Government

The Government has today announced its strategy to achieve a predator free New Zealand by 2050.

Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage said the strategy will help save thousands of native plants and wildlife from the threat of extinction.

The predator free strategy - inititially announced by the National Government in July 2016 - has now been organised into three phases:

- Mobilise - to engage people and resources.

- Innovate - create or improve predator eradication tools and methods for across rural, urban and natural landscapes.

- Accelerate – rapidly deploy and effectively manage predators throughout the country.

"Without a plan, a Predator Free Aotearoa is only a dream," Ms Sage said in a statement this morning.

"It involves changing what we do as we learn more and improve existing tools and methods."

"The strategy values learning by doing from large landscape scale projects such as are happening with Tiakina Nga Manu, on offshore islands, on Taranaki Maunga, in Hawke’s Bay, and in the Mackenzie Basin through Te Manahuna Aoraki."

Ms Sage says the strategy will "save more than 4000 of our native plants and wildlife that are threatened or at risk of extinction".

In order to achieve this the Governement has the goal of permanently eradicating rats, and mustlids like stoats and possums.

“The Strategy, launched today, sets out a structure to achieve the Predator Free goal in the next 30 years, and the action plan describes what we need to do over the next five years."

In 2018, the Government approved $81.28 million over four years to suppress predators in specific areas, protect and increase biodiversity on offshore islands, and develop better predator control methods and tools.

In 2019, through the Provincial Growth Fund, the Government invested a further $16 million in Predator Free 2050 Limited to expand predator control in regional New Zealand, and a further $3.5 million to fund development of new products which reduce the need for repeated 1080 use.