STOATS are among Dr Andew Veale’s research interests; he “mixes and matches” learning about stoats, ferrets and weasels. He also proudly said he had not cut his hair since Covid. Photo supplied
STOAT and ferret control is simpler than you think.
Busy farmers could help save birds like kākā with just a couple of traps, according to mustelid guru and wildlife ecologist Dr Andrew Veale.
This would also protect domestic herds from tuberculosis: “They [mustelids] are TB vectors and they move a lot further than possums.
“You don’t need many traps, but you need a lot of area covered to do it well. That’s where farmers can get together and do this. Try and get as many people involved as possible.
“The challenge is that there are very few stoats in the landscape, but each stoat does a lot of damage.
“If you get rid of the one that lives in your area, then there will be benefits.”
It was ideal to manage pest control across large, connected areas. But if that was not possible, Andrew said, just control your own patch. And put the traps in a good place.
Mustelids often preferred to live in places farmers passed frequently in their daily work.
“[Put them] along habitat margins. So, the edge of forest to grassland, along streams and riparian margins and along stone walls; those are particular favourites because they like to go into the stones.”
Hay barns were a favourite ferret haunt, he said.
Stoats and ferrets needed different traps.
“DOC 200s are very good for stoats … for stoat-sensitive species, this will make a big difference. With ferrets, I generally recommend that you have DOC 250, which is a slightly larger trap.”
Another time-saving alternative was to have a cage trap monitored by a cellphone app – it was only necessary to check traps if an animal had been caught in one. This was legally necessary for animal welfare reasons.
Andrew said farmers tended to feel more receptive about those, because they saved effort.
“[They say] okay, I’ll just have this trap. And if something goes into it, I’ll go. If not, I don’t need to.”
Many birds are affected by stoats and ferrets in the King Country.
Andrew said kākā in particular were heavily affected by mustelid predation especially because they nested in holes. Feral cats would not dig up the eggs, and rats were not big enough to target the aggressive, large bird.
Stoats were a different story: “Kākā are affected by one species and this is stoats.”
King Country kiwi are also at risk.
“Kiwi are affected by three things: stoats, ferrets and dogs. And so, if you’re wanting kiwi in an area, those are the things that you need to address. Over 90% of all kiwi chicks die way before they reach adult size because of mustelid predation.
“And the thing is that they’re not chickens, they’re not laying regularly. This is one to two [eggs] per year and that means that populations just collapse.
“Kiwi are plummeting everywhere that there is not mustelid control. And therefore, that’s the most important thing for people to do.
“If there are any Kiwi in the area or if you want Kiwi in the area [or] there are adjacent places that they could come from, you need mustelid control.”
Other species impacted are pīwakawaka (fantails) and tūī.
“They’re affected by stoats and ship rats in particular,” Andrew said.
Stoats and ferrets cover big areas.
When young stoats leave their mothers, they can travel up to 65 kilometres to find a new home. They will then range over a large area – 50 square kilometres for females and 150-200 for males: it varies with available food.
Andrew said trapping did not replace other methods – while trapping was useful and it should be done wherever possible, methods using toxins were complementary and useful.
He said farmers who were passionate about pest control could talk to DOC about bringing native birdlife back into areas where it had been lost – even on private land.
“If there is an area of forest which could be private or public, then there is good mustelid control, it’s always possible to talk to DOC and see about bringing them back into those areas.
“But you generally need to demonstrate that you’re doing very good mustelid control before DOC will consider it.”
Kina Tweeddale, acting operations manager, DOC Maniapoto, said mustelids were a concern in this area.
“Mustelids, including ferrets, stoats and weasel, are apex predators. They are opportunistic animals and prey on native taonga species, particularly when other mammals are not available as a food source.”
“Pureora is one of the largest intact mixed podocarp broadleaved forest ecosystems in North Island. It is home to one of the largest populations of kākā and whio in the country. Both these birds are especially vulnerable to predation.”
