The traps Department of Conservation uses
Animal pests and predators are a major threat to the survival of New Zealand’s special native flora and fauna.
A wide range of techniques and tools are used to control pests, depending on the threats and the terrain. Ground control is Department of Conservation’s main approach. They use traps, bait stations or culling. It can prove highly effective where the terrain is suitable and regular checks can be made.
It is DoC’s most widely used pest control approach with more than 400,000 hectares under ground control management. Around 80 percent of the Animal Health Board’s operations are ground control. Ground control methods are precise, but are also labour- intensive and expensive.
This website will inform you of three new types of humane kill traps developed by the Department of Conservation and Philip Waddington. These traps are designed to assist conservationists with their protection of native species that have almost been wiped out by introduced predators.
These traps are regarded as innovative and responsible:
The DOC 150 and 200 humanely kill three pest predators - stoats, rats and hedgehogs.
The DOC 250 targets and humanely kills four pest predators - ferrets, stoats, rats and hedgehogs.