Source: Federated Farmers
Federated Farmers say out-of-control populations of goats, pigs, deer and other wild animals are costing farmers an absolute fortune and taking a significant toll on indigenous biodiversity.
“This is a very serious problem that’s costing Kiwi farmers almost a quarter of a billion dollars every year,” Federated Farmers pest management spokesperson Richard McIntyre says.
“These pests aren’t just chewing into farmers’ bottom lines; they’re also chewing into our native bush and completely undermining conservation efforts.”
A recent survey of more than 700 Federated Farmers members from across the country shows feral animals are costing farmers at least $213 million a year.
That figure includes a direct spend of $5.45 per hectare on pest control ($74 million per year) and $10.22 per hectare in lost production ($139 million per year).
“That is a huge cost for rural communities to be carrying at a time when many farming families are already struggling to turn a profit,” McIntyre says.
“It’s also a very conservative estimate and doesn’t include things such as the cost of restoring damaged pasture, fixing broken fences or the loss of trees.”
McIntyre says goat, pig and deer populations are booming in most parts of the country, but things are particularly bad on farms bordering Department of Conservation (DOC) land.
“DOC are widely regarded by farmers as the neighbour you really don’t want to have because they don’t fulfil their obligations on controlling wild animals and weeds,” McIntyre says.
Farmers are spending huge sums of money trying to get wild animal populations under control, but until we see more investment on public land, nothing is going to change.
“Unfortunately, DOC are spending just $13 million a year managing large browsing animals like goats, pigs and deer.
“This simply isn’t addressing the problem, with DOC monitoring showing deer and goat prevalence increasing 64% in just the last 10 years.
“DOC’s efforts are just a drop in the bucket. The annual cost to farming families is more than 15 times the Government spend,” McIntyre says.
“Farmers could spend all the money in the world on pest control, but if we don’t see similar efforts on public land, we’re never going to make a dent in these populations.
“Hordes of wild animals will simply keep walking out of the bush, where they’re breeding like rabbits and destroying forest understories, and onto our farms.”
National parks comprise about one-third of New Zealand, but a quarter of the country’s indigenous biodiversity is located on farmland.
“If the Government continues to under-invest in pest control, we’re all going to pay the price of declining biodiversity, lost production and reduced exports,” McIntyre says.
“We need to get on top of this problem now. If we allow these animals to keep breeding, their populations, and the cost to control them, will only continue to grow.
“We appreciate the Government is under huge financial pressures, but this isn’t something New Zealand can afford to scrimp and save on.”
McIntyre says it isn’t necessarily about the Government having to spend more money; it could simply be a case of reprioritising existing spending to deliver better outcomes.
“DOC should be performing exceptionally well given their budget has increased from $402 million in 2017 to $710 million in the last financial year.
“Perhaps they should be spending more of that money on hunters and trappers on the ground controlling pests, and less on back-office staff and expensive Environment Court lawyers.”
The Federated Farmers survey found just on half of farmers reported pest populations expanding in the last five years, and 28% said numbers are ‘significantly higher’.
More than 30% of those surveyed said their shooting, trapping and poisoning efforts are making no inroads into reducing feral pest numbers.
“Farmers just don’t have the resources to keep rabbits, deer, wallabies, Canadian geese, feral cats and all the other pest populations at sustainable levels,” McIntyre says.
“Recreational hunters are doing a great job of supporting farmers, but things are now nearing crisis point and will only continue to get worse.
“It’s time for a serious intervention.”
In the Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Conservation last year, the Department of Conservation noted:
Currently, we only control these threats on a small fraction of conservation land and are losing the battle. For example, DOC delivers 1080-based predator control on around 7.5% of public conservation land annually. Changing this will require several things to happen, including:
– prioritisation to protect the most important values and ensure a cost-effective approach; there needs to be a considered balance between work to suppress predators, wild animals, weeds and aquatic pests to protect ecosystems and species, versus a focus on the elimination of key pests where this is feasible and can be maintained Department of Conservation
– expanding landscape-scale predator control with tools already in use and turning the tables by using additional tools such as genetic technologies and automation that can increase reach
– enlisting third-party resources and capability through partnerships and new funding sources to increase capacity.
The briefing also noted:
“Manages populations of deer, goats, pigs, Tahr and chamois in priority conservation areas. Funding received for 2023/24 was $12.830 million from Vote Conservation departmental output expense funding.”
In the Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Hunting and Fishing, the Department of Conservation noted:
Monitoring shows that ungulates (e.g. deer, goats) now occupy 82% of sites on public conservation land, an increase from 64% in 2013 (Figure 3).
Increases have been more pronounced in the North Island than in the South Island. A key reason for this is a reduction in commercial helicopter recovery of wild animals due to a reduction in demand for venison from international markets.
