New Zealand’s ambitious goal of becoming predator free by 2050 may be under threat after a key state-owned pest eradication company was culled last week.
The disestablishment of Predator Free 2050 Limited, announced on Budget Day, was expected to save $12.6 million in overheads over four years.
The Department of Conservation would pick up the responsibilities, but some conservationists say that arrangement wouldn’t be able to handle the work.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said closing the company would remove any duplication of work, make the programme more efficient and provide better value for money.
The move has stunned those on the ground. Sarah Wilson, team leader at at Pest Free Banks Peninsula, a project covering 23,000 hectares, called it an “absolute bombshell”.
“They’ve got very little extra resource, if nothing, to do the work and they will shoulder it.”
Wilson’s team recently declared the Akaroa township possum-free but she worried about the future of the project.
“Through to June next year, we will keep going, but beyond that, the future is very unclear and that is worrying.”
Researcher Maria Doole said the announcement was “oddly timed”.
“It’s kind of slap bang in the middle of a strategy consultation on both predator-free and biodiversity more generally.”
She said it appeared to be a “cost-cutting exercise” and that it did not have much basis in conservation strategy.
“From a purely human point of view, it seems like a pretty rubbish way to wind down an organisation to tell them on Budget Day.”
