Predator Free Martinborough
Predator Free Martinborough has been going for over a year. It is an informal group but receives administrative support from South Wairarapa Biodiversity Group. The sponsors: DOC Masterton, South Wairarapa Rotary, Envirotools Ltd
The objective is to encourage and support people in and around Martinborough to do trapping on their own properties. Target species – in Martinborough village the most commonly caught pest species are rats and hedgehogs. In rural areas some people in the group – generally the more experienced – are getting stoats as well.
Predator Free Martinborough runs a trap library. This means that people can try out one type of trap for a while and if they find it isn’t working for them, can return it and try out a different trap type. In exchange for borrowing a trap, people agree to keep a record of what they catch and report it from time to time.
The catch records get put onto a national trapping database. Once people are no longer using the borrowed trap – for example, because they have bought one of their own – then they return the trap and someone else can borrow it.
The group has run several information sessions for people on trap types and trapping tips, and hopes to do more now we are into Alert Level 2 with more than 10 people able to gather.
If you would like to borrow a trap or maybe are already trapping and would like to be part of the group, contact Jane Lenting at swbg@xtra.co.nz. The group’s Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/predatorfreemarty/
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