1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,960 Speaker 1: Right now, let's talk about Wellington. So the government is 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: putting five and a half million dollars into efforts to 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: make the capital predator free. If it becomes preduce a free, 4 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: it'll be the first predator free place in New Zealand 5 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,120 Speaker 1: preduter free. Wellington will get the cash over the next 6 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: five years. And the chair is Tim Pancurse, who's with 7 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: us now on it. 8 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 2: Tim, Hey, Heather good to talk to you. 9 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: What are you going to do with the money? 10 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 2: Well, we've got plenty of good uses for it, and 11 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 2: this is some really good news for Wellington for a change. 12 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 2: So we've got a pretty ambitious project to make the 13 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 2: entire Wellington region predator free by twenty thirty. And that 14 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 2: takes us right across the city, right across to the 15 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 2: west coast and down to the south coast on Cook Strait. 16 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: How do you keep that would Obviously the rest of 17 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: us have got heaps of predators, So how do you 18 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: stop our predators getting into your predator free space? 19 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 2: Good question. So, as well as advancing into new areas, 20 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 2: we also have to be really mindful of protecting what 21 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 2: we've already cleared. So we've got enormous network of traps 22 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,680 Speaker 2: and cameras and so on, so that you know, we've 23 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 2: we cleared Miramar Peninsula a couple of years ago. We 24 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 2: have had a couple of reintroductions and we've we've tracked 25 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 2: those by camera and and tracked them down and dealt 26 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 2: to them. So we're moving through fourteen suburbs through the 27 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 2: city at the moment and making good progress across there. 28 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 2: But we're also very mindful of protecting rare areas. 29 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: I mean, is this is this? Is this over? This 30 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: sounds ambitious, right, It sounds ambitious because when you think 31 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: about it, I think, is it Carpety Island or Mana 32 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: Island or one of them? Occasionally some predator will swim 33 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: over there and freak everybody out. Now, if that, if 34 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: they can get across a body of water, they're just 35 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: going to be able to wander down Transmission Gully, aren't they. 36 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 2: Look, you know there are there are always going to 37 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 2: be incursions. But if you've got your network set up, 38 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 2: you've got your trap networks, you've got your poison and 39 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 2: and your cameras, and as I say, we've got a 40 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:15,079 Speaker 2: huge network, you can be pretty confident of keeping out 41 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 2: any intruders. Once you're cleared in area carpitd The island 42 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 2: is predator free. It's far enough off the mainland to 43 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 2: have a barrier there, and you know the bird song 44 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 2: over there is definitely. 45 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: Now are people's cats going to be safe because they're 46 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: on the hit list now, aren't they? 47 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 2: Look, they're not part of our remit, but they certainly 48 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 2: are part of predator Free twenty fifty, the wider program 49 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 2: that was reinforced by Conservation Minister Tamat Potarka today. But look, 50 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 2: Tittle's is safe. Feral cats a premium. They're prime predators. 51 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 2: They do enormous damage and they really do need to 52 00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 2: be taken out. But with the recently sophisticated trapping equipment 53 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 2: that we that we have that can register whether a 54 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,959 Speaker 2: cat is microchipped or not, so it won't do any 55 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 2: harm to a domestic cat, but will certainly deal to 56 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 2: a feral one. 57 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: Oh really, is it a trap that only goes off 58 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: if the cat doesn't have a microchip. 59 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: Yes, So that's an increasing you know, owners on domestic 60 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 2: cat owners to get their cats hopefully de sext and microchip. 61 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 2: And I think there is a change in public opinion 62 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 2: and you know a number of states in Australia, it's 63 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 2: an offense to let your cat out at night. We 64 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 2: haven't reached that stage here yet, but there is increasing 65 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 2: awareness that cats are predators and do a lot of 66 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 2: damage to our native wildlife. 67 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: Interesting, Tim, thanks for your time. Appreciate it mate. That's 68 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: Tim Panker's Predator f Fory Wellington Chair. For more from 69 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to news talks. It'd 70 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.