Successful year in pest control

Environment Canterbury reported today it has been a successful year of compliance biosecurity work protecting Canterbury land from the detrimental impacts of rabbits, wallabies and of various plant pests.

Control of animal and plant pests is vital to Canterbury’s largely agricultural economy and a key part to protecting Canterbury’s indigenous biodiversity and natural habitats.

Environment Canterbury’s Regional Manager Pests and Biodiversity Graham Sullivan says his teams’ inspections shows a reassuringly high level of compliance with the Canterbury Regional Pest Management Strategy (RPMS) and land holder commitment to supporting the objectives strategy.

“Our teams inspected 3,362 properties, with follow up visits to 1,353 properties that were initially not meeting the requirements of the RMPS. A successful outcome was achieved in all but 3 instances.

“The most notable and significant challenge for the biosecurity team this year was the discovery of a new outbreak of the plant pest Chilean Needle Grass in North Canterbury in late 2011,” says Mr Sullivan.

Environment Canterbury Commissioner Tom Lambie congratulated the team for its work and acknowledged the responsible attitude of most land occupiers to pest control on their properties.

“We all know what danger pests, whether on legs, in the soil or water, can do to the environment and to the economy. This is very important work and we can’t do it all on our own,” says Mr Lambie.

If land occupiers or members of the public see what they think may be a pest on their property please contact Environment Canterbury on 0800 324 636 or 03 353 9007.

The full report on the RPMS Operation Plan for July 2011 to June 2012 is due to be released later this year.