Eliminating Possums From Banks Peninsula: A Blueprint For NZ (with Ollie Rutland-Sims, Pest Free Banks Peninsula)

About this episode

The episode discusses a unique possum elimination program on Banks Peninsula, featuring insights from Ollie Rutland-Sims of Pest Free Banks Peninsula.

Australian brush-tail possums are one of the most widespread and damaging introduced pests in Aotearoa New Zealand, with an estimated ~30 million around the country. They are wreaking havoc on both our native plants and animals, and they put pressure on our ecosystems, farms, and the wider economy. Most of the time, we respond by suppressing possum numbers. But on Banks Peninsula, a different approach is taking shape. In this episode, we sit down with Ollie Rutland-Sims from Pest Free Banks Peninsula to learn about their possum elimination programme: A bold mission, strategically working to drive possum numbers to zero in their area under the ethos that “offence is the best defence”. As Ollie explains, “we're now dealing with quite a legacy problem and a population that really, the only checks and balances on it are coming from human inputs” Ollie shares Pest Free Banks Peninsula’s 4-stage elimination strategy: Knock-down → mop-up → surveillance → and lastly the defence phase after a block of land has been declared possum-free. It’s an approach that’s working, with 5,800 hectares already declared possum-free - and could be used as blueprint for possum elimination throughout the…

People in this episode

Guest: Ollie Rutland-Sims

Topics covered

• pest control
• biodiversity
• ecosystem management
• conservation strategies
• environmental impact

Keywords

• possums
• elimination strategy
• biodiversity
• ecosystem
• pest management
• New Zealand
• conservation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pest Free Banks Peninsula

Places: Aotearoa New Zealand, Banks Peninsula

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