Department of Conservation rangers Bill Knox, John Whibley and Dan Arnold have notched up their 1000th stoat kill in Abel Tasman National Park. © Jonathan Carson
By Jonathan Carson
Stuff.co.nz
A crack team of trappers have executed their 1000th “killing machine” in Abel Tasman National Park, paving the way for the re-introduction of more native birds.
Stoats are considered “killing machines” and “public enemy number one” when it comes to invasive predators that wreak havoc on New Zealand’s native birds, according to the Department of Conservation.
And a group of rangers that have been expanding the trapping networks in the Abel Tasman caught their 1000th stoat inland from Torrent Bay, near Cleopatra’s Pool, last month.
The kill count started in early 2013 when Project Janszoon and DOC started ramping up its stoat control operations in the park.
DOC ranger Bill Knox has been a part of the project since the beginning. He said catching 1000 stoats in four years was “significant to the project as a whole” and “representative of a greater team effort”.
