NZ’s Conservation Department Spent Nearly $500,000 to Eradicate One Stoat

In 2016, the New Zealand government introduced Predator Free 2050, an ambitious project that aims to completely eradicate all non-native predators.

The country's native species, in particular birds like the Kiwi, are under constant threat from introduced predators like stoats. Johannes Eisele /AFP/GettyImages

New Zealand’s Department on Conservation (DOC) which aims to eradicate mustelids from the country by 2050, spent nearly $500,000 (US$297,000) to rid a wildlife area in the South island of just one predator, select committee documents recently released say.

The country’s native species, in particular birds like the Kiwi, are under constant threat from introduced predators like stoats, ferrets, and Norway and ship rats. These animals were introduced from the United Kingdom in the 19th century as a way of controlling rabbits that were destroying pasture used for raising sheep.