Written by: Spencer Cooper
2021
As New Zealand has no native land mammals, birds and other vertebrates are vulnerable to introduced pests such as rats, possums, stoats and other mustelids. Because of this threat to native species, the New Zealand government has set the goal of trying to eradicate all these pests by 2050 (Pest Free 2050 Campaign). Our club completely supports this initiative and has started to make progress in this area. We have installed a number of traps around the course mainly targeting rats and possums. We have seen no evidence yet of mustelids on the golf course.
Over the coming year, we will be increasing our number of traps and pest control with the goal of becoming pest-free. We will be involving a group of volunteers to help manage and maintain the traps and recording our successes. We have also hosted pest trapping workshops with other courses in the area, hopefully encouraging other golf courses to do the same. We look forward to achieving our goal and seeing more birds on the course.
