Source: Department of Conservation
Written by Vanessa Mander, DOC’s Predator Free 2050 Communities Advisor.
Life as a ranger means that you are at the front line and members of the public see us as a trusted source of best practice trapping information. The green uniform appears to act like a beacon of sorts in the field. I certainly found that!
Questions I have been asked:
“How do I find out what pests I’ve got?” to “What sort of humane traps are right for possums on my lifestyle block?”, to the very real, “my chickens are getting nailed by a stoat (or some other furry sod), what lures should I use in my traps to deal to it?”
But what if you too could possess these answers, all at your fingertips?
Since 2019, we’ve been printing and revising our popular publication, the Practical Guide to Trapping. It is often referred to as a “ranger in your back pocket” because it’s full of important best-practice information to help you with your trapping work. There have been so many circumstances that this book has come to my rescue. It’s the trapping bible that people really should know about.
The DOC Predator Free Communities Team is now launching the 3rd edition of this amazing guide. Since 2019, we have distributed well over 35,000 hard copies to communities, as well as 6,000 downloads from our website.
What can we expect with this new and improved trapping guide?
The third edition builds on all the great, best practice trapping and predator species information, and now also includes:
- Information on live capture trapping
- Updated NAWAC (National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee) passed humane trap list
- Site specific updates on kauri disease and myrtle rust
- Updated information on recording your trap catch
- Updated suppliers and links
- And so much more!
We are also excited to share the Predator Control Calendar and Stoat and Rat Trap Checklist in this new edition, courtesy of our friends at the Predator Free New Zealand Trust.
These are used far and wide, and beloved across the motu, so don’t trust just us! Here’s what a range of people are saying about the Practical Guide to Trapping:
“The trapping guide is a highly valuable booklet for communities and contains vital information on animal ecology as well as DOC best practice trapping methodology and biodiversity monitoring.
A great resource, improved further with some of our own branded material including our popular Predator Control Calendar and our new Stoat and Rat Trap Checklist. The trapping guide has always been very popular at our Cam Speedy Roadshows across Aotearoa.”
Jessi Morgan, CE of the Predator Free New Zealand Trust.
“This little booklet is packed full of useful information. Covering animal biology, best practice monitoring and solid trapping advice, it’s never far from hand and an excellent resource for individuals and communities whatever their experience or scale.”
Tim Sjoberg, Senior Team Lead at Pest Free Banks Peninsula.
“We find the trapping guides enormously useful for our teaching & trapping. The guides are a handy size and robust. They are very easy to follow, and we find the detailed plans and dimensions of trap boxes very useful.”
Peter Varey, Gisborne Boys High School.
And from our partners from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, Becs Gibson uses the trapping guide in their Level 3 micro-credential Predator Trapping Methods course.
“It is great to have detailed information on pests and reputable ‘best practice’ trapping options in Aotearoa in one booklet. Selecting the right trap for the right environment and for the target predator is essential for successful conservation outcomes and this guide lays out all the information and detail to get you off to the right start.”
Becs Gibson, NMIT.
“At the Visitor Centre’s in Taranaki, we find that the public really enjoy the books and they are popular!! Students who study Pest Ops [Western Institute of Technology Taranaki] must choose a target species and research it’s biology, behaviour, impacts and control methods – which the ‘bible’ serves as a great resource.”
Georgina Ngametea, Taranaki DOC Visitor Centre & Western Institute of Technology Taranaki.
Come and join in the action with us! You can pick up your own copy from your nearest Visitor Centre, or download a copy from the DOC website. But don’t worry if you already have one of the other versions, it’s still got some great best practice info in there and got some life in it yet!
