Before we get started, let me address the truly confusing fact that teal is both a colour and a bird. It seems the bird came first, and the colour is based on that Eurasian bird. My question is: if we continue our groundbreaking naming of teals in New Zealand (brown teal, grey teal), what happens if we find a teal-coloured teal? Moving on…
Pāteke/Brown teal
Honestly, ornithologists (bird-nerds) are pretty uncreative with their names. Brown teal indeed. Pāteke are ADORABLE. I think it’s the wee white ring around their eye. Oh, and may I introduce the ducklings?
A pāteke family at Auckland Zoo. Image credit: Aja Pendergrast/Auckland Zoo.
Like the mallards in Episode 1, these are dabblers (it’s a popular pastime); pāteke have seriously low numbers but are listed as at risk-recovering, thanks to some excellent conservation efforts. In places where they don’t have specific conservation efforts, they’re still vulnerable to habitat loss and predation.
Up close they are unmistakeable, but from a distance pāteke may appear similar to other ducks. Look out for a duck smaller than a mallard flying low and fast over water, most commonly around the northern half of the North Island.
See a brown looking teal with a white eye-ring on mainland New Zealand? It’s probably a pāteke. Image credit: Paul Jansen/DOC.
The case of pāteke v mallard on Aotea Great Barrier Island
In a troubling turn of events, the pāteke population on Aotea is under threat from the insurgent mallard population. Prosecutors claim introduced mallards are outbreeding the endemic pāteke, with the injury centred on humans artificially increasing mallard success by feeding them. The judge has not ordered any recompense, but humans are reminded to avoid feeding any wild bird and continue to be ‘decent to ducks’ (more below).
Tētē/grey teal
Aussie cousins of our teals, grey teal are now considered native and aren’t threatened. Grey teal are nomadic dabblers with one stand-out feature – brilliant red eyes. Despite their alarming gaze, experts assure me they are not vampires, but feed on insects, molluscs and seeds. I’m still not inviting one in at nighttime.
Easily confused with the occasional visitor the chestnut teal.
With eyes like that, surely grey ducks are up to no good? Image credit: Paul Jansen/DOC.
WAY down South
Two endemic teals live on our subantarctic islands, and both are flightless so don’t expect to be seeing them in your backyard anytime soon (or anywhere else in the world). Auckland Island and Campbell Island teals are each similar in appearance to their mainland cousin the pāteke. Your best bet for identification is location – see a brown-looking teal? Check what island you are on, and you probably have your answer! Campbell Island teal are among the world’s rarest ducks, fortunately now increasing thanks to rat eradication on their home ground.
Conservation for the critically endangered kākāpō dates back 130 years to 1894, when Richard Henry first moved kākāpō to (then) predator free Resolution Island. Today, DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme combines the efforts of iwi, partners, scientists, rangers, volunteers, and donors to continue to protect and restore this taonga species.
Our purpose is to restore the mauri (life force) of the once plentiful kākāpō. So far, efforts have been rewarded and during nearly 30 years of the programme the population has increased from 51 to the 247 kākāpō alive today. It’s a long game with challenges that can be grouped into three main categories; habitat, genetics, and disease.
Kākāpō Advocacy Ranger, Andie Gentle, looks into the first challenge – habitat, and what it takes to find new sites for the growing kākāpō population.
Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island | Jake Osborne, DOC
Kākāpō pace
Aotearoa New Zealand’s much adored night parrots come with their own, unhurried pace. Longevity is on their side. The oldest kākāpō known today is at least 51 years old and it is estimated they could live between 60-90 years old. Many kākāpō reach their teens before they start successfully breeding and even then, they only breed once every 2-4 years.
Most of today’s 247 kākāpō live on two Southern predator-free islands which are reaching kākāpō-capacity. With each breeding season, there is an increasing need to find sites to support kākāpō populations into the future. To be suitable, sites need vast native forest, no predators (feral cats, rats and stoats) and the ability to stimulate successful breeding (more on that later).
Kākāpō-pace means each new site trial could take a decade or more to gather the information required. One long-term site trial that has recently been completed was on Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island.
Kākāpō Lisa on Hauturu in 2018 | Jake Osborne, DOC
Hauturu & kākāpō
There are only two pest-free islands in New Zealand large enough to sustain a population of kākāpō that are certainly beyond the swimming distance of rats and stoats. One of them, Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, is a successful breeding home to a population of nearly 100 kākāpō. The other is Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island.
Hauturu is a sanctuary 80km north-east of Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. It was New Zealand’s first nature reserve and is now a refuge for hundreds of rare and endangered plants, birds, and animals.
Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island | Jake Osborne, DOC
Kākāpō were first translocated to Hauturu in 1982. At the time, there were just 29 known kākāpō and it had become clear that they were being predated by cats on Rakiura/Stewart Island. With the presence of kiore (the Pacific rat) but no feral cats, Hauturu was identified as a safer haven. By the end of 1982, 21 kākāpō had been relocated there. Intensive management and supplementary feeding programmes began seven years later after no breeding had occurred on the island.
Breeding triggers
The only known trigger to stimulate kākāpō breeding today is the mast of the rimu tree. This happens once every 2-4 years on the Southern islands. We can predict a mast in advance by comparing seasonal temperatures year-on-year and counting fruit tips.
To best support the critically endangered kākāpō we supplementary feed them ahead of a breeding season to help them reach top breeding condition. Additional feeding for chick rearing is also required if the mast was big enough to stimulate breeding but didn’t result in enough fruit to sustain chick rearing (which may occur after storms or extreme weather events or if the fruit doesn’t ripen).
Despite the absence of rimu on Hauturu, several breeding attempts were made there in the 1990’s and two chicks were raised with supplementary feeding support. It was the kauri tree that was thought to be the most likely trigger to stimulate kākāpō breeding on the island. Regardless, this was proof that, with support, kākāpō could thrive on Hauturu.
There was just one big problem. The island’s terrain is much more extreme than the Southern islands, making this level of hands-on management logistically challenging.
The rugged terrain of Hauturu, being navigated by DOC rangers and Auckland Zoo team members as they carry out work with kākāpō on the island | DOC.
By 1999 more kākāpō had been discovered on Rakiura and the total population numbered 63. All kākāpō were returned South to help diversify the precious breeding populations that were now active on Whenua Hou and Maud Island. Following the removal of kākāpō, kiore were eradicated from Hauturu and the sanctuary gained pest-free status in 2004.
The trial
With supplementary feeding successful but not feasible on Hauturu, the next step was to learn if kākāpō could breed and raise chicks there without support. In 2012, eight of the total 125 kākāpō at the time were carefully selected by their genetic profiles and breeding history to help us find out. Over the coming years another nine joined the trial.
Seven of this cohort had been on Hauturu before. Notably, all seven returned to their old home ranges on the island within a couple of weeks of arriving back. Two of the returning birds were super-breeders Blades and Flossie, who had each produced the most offspring by a male and female respectively at the time.
Kākāpō Rangers Petrus and Bryony completing a transmitter change and health check on 27-year-old Tiwai on Hauturu, 2022 | DOC
What did we learn?
Unfortunately, the next decade saw limited breeding success on the island. In 2014 Heather was the only female to nest. She only hatched one of three fertile eggs herself and that chick needed support as, by ten days old, it was starving. It was the same poor result in 2016 when Heather and Lisa nested and the only chick to hatch also required support due to lack of food. Lisa nested again in 2021, but her two eggs were infertile.
During the trial period of 12 years, the kauri tree did not produce a heavy crop of seeds as it had in the past. Along with the poor nesting outcomes, this confirmed that while Hauturu is safe for kākāpō, they are unlikely to be productive on the island without supplementary feeding.
Heather’s 2014 chick Mahli pictured while receiving care at Auckland Zoo vet hospital | DOC
Wrapping up the trial
In 2023 it was decided that the kākāpō on Hauturu would be more valuable back on the Southern breeding islands, and the plan is for all to be returned by the end of this year.
It may not be the last time kākāpō live amongst the Hauturu forest, so remnant of primeval New Zealand. Given the long lifespan of kākāpō and the size and pest-free status of Hauturu, the island could play a role in the future security of the population until other safe breeding sites become available.
For now, the island has helped provide valuable data and insights to help manage kākāpō conservation for decades to come.
Left: DOC Ranger Richard Walle. Middle: Jasmine from Auckland Zoo carrying kākāpō before the first transfer off Hauturu, 2023. Right: DOC Ranger Dani completing a transmitter change and health check on Flossie in 2023. All photos by DOC.
It takes a village
DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery team worked closely with iwi (tribe) representatives from Ngāi Tahu and the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust to undertake the trial and the required transfers of the manu between rohe.
Kākāpō are a taonga species to Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori iwi of southern New Zealand. It is of great significance to iwi when the care and protection of a taonga is transferred. During the Hauturu trial local mana whenua Ngāti Manuhiri took on kaitiaki responsibilities of the manu through the tikanga of whāngai (the concept of fostering).
This trial was undertaken in association with Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund with practical assistance from Auckland Zoo staff and its vet hospital, the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine. It was also supported by Kākāpō Recovery Programme’s National Partner Meridian Energy and DOC’s National Partner Air New Zealand.
Ngāti Manuhiri and Ngāi Tahu representatives with DOC team members during (left) the first transfer from Hauturu to Fiordland in July 2023, and (right) the second transfer in August 2024. The final cohort of remaining monitored kākāpō on Hauturu will return later this year | DOC.
Moving forward to step back
Two new site trials are underway at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in Waikato and Coal Island/Te Puka-Hereka in Fiordland, and there are more to come. Like at Hauturu, it will be years before results are known, but it is hoped that more breeding triggers could be discovered along the way.
The last three breeding seasons have been bumper on the Southern islands. The next breeding season is predicted to be 2026 and with more than 80 breeding-aged females, it could be the biggest yet.
Rakiura will be a game changer for kākāpō when it becomes predator free. From there, the goal will be to one day return kākāpō to all their natural ranges throughout New Zealand. Of course, these visions will rely on the success of the country’s predator free movements.
We’ve come a long way since 1894; just imagine Aotearoa after another 130 years of care and protection. Will kākāpō be roaming safe and free among our great-grandchildren?
Anything is possible, even when each day goes at kākāpō-pace.
Kākāpō Lisa on Hauturu in 2020 | Jake Osborne, DOC
Get involved
Together with our Treaty Partner Ngāi Tahu and National Partner Meridian Energy we are grateful for the ongoing commitment from our supporters. There are lots of ways you can help ensure a brighter future for kākāpō.
What the next 20 years of predator free islands hold.
In this two-part series, we’re celebrating 20 years of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest predator free project to-date. Looking to the future, we explore what the next 20 years of restoring New Zealand’s wild and precious islands may hold. Learn how artificial intelligence, the history of phones, and feral pigs all connect.
Written by Janel Hull.
20 years ago, DOC declared the seemingly impossible operation to make Campbell Island predator free a resounding success.
The techniques that DOC staff on Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku pioneered helped propel the world into exponentially scaling up eradications of bigger and bigger islands. DOC’s Predator Free 2050 Senior Manager, Brent Beaven, shares how Campbell Island changed the game. “Campbell Island helped unlock a step change in what we thought was possible.”
DOC Predator Free 2050 Senior Manager, Brent Beaven, translocating a rare native tīeke (South Island saddleback) | Photo: Peta Carey
Now, there have been over 1,000 island eradications in the world. And New Zealand is responsible for the lion’s share.
Thanks to these predator free breakthroughs, islands across the world are covered in screeching penguins, soaring albatross, and chubby sea lions. We were able to save precious native plants and animals from the brink of extinction.
But momentum in creating larger predator free islands has unfortunately waned. Brent notes, “The island eradication tools and techniques we use now have allowed us to achieve some incredible things. But, to scale up to larger and more island eradications, we need innovation.”
Technology and techniques haven’t changed much since the 2001 Campbell Island operation. Island eradications in 2023 use similar GPS, helicopters, and techniques. Which is surprising considering that in 2001 the first ipod was released, we had just survived Y2K, and fax machines and landlines reigned supreme. These predator eradication techniques are tried and true and get the job done. But the tools aren’t effective and efficient for eradicating predators from very large islands or the mainland of Aotearoa.
To tackle restoring larger islands and the mainland, we need new tools, techniques, and technology. We need investment to shift from reliable landlines to transformative smart phones.
Predator Free 2050 has focused government investment into this innovation. Since the goal was announced in 2016, programmes like DOC’s ‘Tools to Market‘ and Predator Free 2050 Ltd.’s ‘Products to Projects’ have invested in possible game changers like biodegradable aerial rat traps, AI cameras and image recognition, smart detection devices, pest-specific toxins, and research to map predator genomes to understand their unique weaknesses and biology. In just the first five years of Predator Free 2050, government has invested $43 million into tools, research, and software for predator eradication.
Biodegradable aerial rat traps | Photo: GoodnatureZero Invasive Predators (ZIP) innovation and operations team talk through a prototype | Photo: Robyn Janes
It’s unlikely research will uncover just one “silver bullet” for eradicating introduced predators. But with the help of investment and new tools and technology, Aotearoa could accelerate efforts to restoring precious islands and our mainland.
Predator Free 2050 has also helped launch DOC’s National Eradication Team (NET). This team is working on a strategy for eradicating predators from all of New Zealand’s uninhabited off-shore islands. They’re leaders in predator eradication – spearheading strategy, testing new techniques, and advising on island eradication projects both in Aotearoa and around the world.
Some members of the National Eradication Team | Photo: Finlay Cox
DOC’s eradication experts have already achieved great things for people and wildlife. In 2018, a DOC team led the charge to successfully eradicate mice from Antipodes island, protecting wildlife like wandering albatross.
They’re also sharing their knowledge and expertise abroad. In 2023, they led a rat eradication on Palmerston Atoll in the Cook Islands with our neighbours in the Pacific who were struggling with rats destroying food and threatening their community’s health.
National Eradication Team member supporting Palmerston Atoll community members with trail cameras and rat surveys | Photo: Em Oyston
With the leadership of DOC and investment in tools and techniques, Aotearoa is taking strides to accelerate island conservation.
And these experts have their eyes set on the next big island restoration – Maukahuka Auckland Island.
Maukahuka/Auckland Island is a stronghold of remarkable plants and animals. As a subantarctic nature reserve and World Heritage site, it is home to some of the world’s rarest animals like the Gibson’s albatross, southern right-whales, New Zealand sea lions and hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin).
The island supports over 500 native plants and animals with more than 100 found nowhere else in the world. The wild landscape has blushing rātā forests and windswept clusters of bright megaherbs. Maukahuka is of great cultural and spiritual significance to Ngāi Tahu, with a long history of Polynesian expeditions to the islands to gather food and settle.
Megaherb carpets on neighbouring predator free Enderby Island | Photo: James WareHoiho/yellow-eyed penguins | Photo: Rachael Sagar
Sadly, over the last 200 years, populations of feral pigs, feral cats, and mice have inflicted severe harm. Now, of the 39 native bird species that were once on the island, 28 are either gone or remain in very small numbers. Large swaths of rātā forests have disturbed soils and stunted understories. Megaherbs are dwindling. Without action, plants and animals will continue to disappear.
Feral pigs in a white-capped albatross colony on Auckland Island | Photo: Paul Sagar
At about four times the size of Campbell Island, achieving a predator free Auckland Island would be a massive undertaking. It would be New Zealand’s largest predator free island and the final step to finally restore all of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands.
In 2021, the National Eradication Team spent three years investigating whether it was possible to eradicate pigs, mice and feral cats from Auckland Island. They concluded that making Auckland Island predator free would be achievable, worthwhile, and sustainable in the long run.
But first, the project would need about $9.75 million per year over 8 years to tackle the challenge. Innovation in image processing and targeted baits has steadily reduced the time and cost. But it would still require unprecedented support and investment.
Looking to the future, New Zealand could make even bigger strides in conservation on islands like Auckland Island. Brent reflects, “All of our progress on previous islands helped build the confidence to launch Predator Free 2050. We’re now seriously eyeing up another step change in possibility with Maukahuka Auckland Island.”
Predator Free 2050 is helping tackle the challenge of innovating new tools and technology, spearheading a strategy for restoring all islands, and growing new levels of community support and investment for eradicating pests.
The next 20 years could be promising for predator free islands. But it’ll be a challenge. Brent notes, “We’ll need to innovate, test our limits and be prepared to take a bit of risk as we step into the unknown.”
We’re celebrating 20 years of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest predator free project to-date. Hear from a former DOC ranger who experienced the world first rat eradication as he shares the story of mysterious footprints, an explosion of wētā, and why making subantarctic islands predator-free is so important.
Written by Janel Hull.
Campbell Island, Motu Ihupuku is a thriving wildlife stronghold and a testament to Aotearoa New Zealand’s world-leadership in conservation. But it’s tucked away in a surprising location, 700 kilometres south of Aotearoa New Zealand’s South Island in the subantarctic islands.
This island is a World Heritage Site and nature reserve that is renowned for the overwhelming volume of rare plants and animals it supports. The island is home to six species of albatross – including one that lives nowhere else in the world.
The northern cliffs are blanketed in densely packed nests of Campbell Island albatross and thick with weaving swarms of seabirds. It’s a stunning sight to see… just try not to imagine the strong smell.
Fields of lilac and sunshine megaherbs (giant wildflowers) stretch in an endless carpet across the upper parts of the island, reaching up to the knees and hips of visitors. The fields are interrupted with dots of white – nests of southern royal albatross/toroa – and brown – lounging New Zealand sea lions/pakake. Sometimes, the sea lions let off an unsettling nearby roar from somewhere in the tall grass.
But 20 years ago, Campbell Island was a completely different story. For nearly 200 years, introduced rats had run rampant on the island. These predators decimated megaherbs, birds, and nests in their wake. Campbell Island had achieved another world first for wildlife volume. But this time, the island had the highest density of Norway rats in the world.
This all changed in 2001 when DOC began a world-first operation to eradicate rats from the 11,300-hectare Campbell Island. Former DOC Ranger Lindsay Wilson recalls “when we were doing Campbell, there was a huge amount of scepticism that it would work. It was the largest rat eradication in the world.”
Former DOC ranger Lindsay Wilson on Campbell Island | Photo: Supplied
The team boldly aimed to eradicate rats from an island about six times bigger than any island attempted before. This was attempting “the impossible”.
DOC sent a team of 19 including eradication experts, biologists, helicopter pilots, a medic, and a cook to live on the island for 3 months.
Lindsay was a key part of the team. To save native species from extinction, they were tasked with meticulously distributing rat toxin across every corner of the island. They used helicopters and recently developed GPS technology to map the precise spread of bait.
A typical day for Lindsay involved being flown out to a helicopter loading site at sunrise, filling buckets with toxin, and reloading until sunset. (Although sometimes a typical day involved waiting for the wind to stop blowing). In the evenings, the crew would head back to their hut and pour over GPS tracks to determine paths for the next day. Their long hours were driven by a single purpose – bring thriving wildlife back to the island.
All work was planned around the wet, windy, and unpredictable weather of the subantarctic islands. Operations require fine and calm weather for flying and to ensure bait is in tip top shape. A typical day was drizzly, blustering with 30-40 knot winds, and was about 5 degrees Celsius with heavy grey clouds. In fact, rain falls on Campbell Island an average of 325 days per year!
Lindsay chuckles, “the weather was so bad, it was kind of cool. You know? I remember the first time after 10 days the sun came out. Suddenly it’s like everything went from black and white to colour.”
With a combination of surprisingly dry weather and the team’s hard work, the operation finished in just 6 weeks.
Two years later, Lindsay and the team returned to the island to monitor whether the world-first eradication was successful. The team landed with bated breath.
“Right after we landed on the first night, we went outside and shone the torch around and here’s all these wētā under the bushes that we hadn’t seen previously. It was really pronounced – there were wētā everywhere.”
For two months, the team hiked up and down the steep island checking lines of traps to look for signs of any remaining rats. Instead, they found recovering megaherbs, an explosion of the songbird pipits, and a mysterious footprint.
“The icing on the cake was one of the team found small footprints in the mud at Six Foot Lake.” They thought it could be the endemic subantarctic snipe, previously wiped out from the island.
“We could hardly believe it really. They didn’t have a camera with them, and we didn’t have cell phones in those days. They did a very careful sketch and got measurements of the footprints.” Once they returned to the hut, they radioed the snipe expert and confirmed their finding.
Drawing of subantarctic snipe footprints by bird expert Colin MiskellyA subantarctic snipe chick found by researchers on Campbell Island in 2004 | Photo: Colin Miskelly
The snipe were back home, at last. These hearty birds had managed to reintroduce themselves from a tiny rock stack near the island.
Lindsay remembers that the team had dreamed of one-day returning snipe to Campbell Island. “We thought we’d have to go and physically capture snipe, captive rear them, and maybe in 10-20 years we could reintroduce them. But instead, within two years, they were back.”
An adult subantarctic snipe on Campbell Island | Photo: Brent Beaven
Campbell Island was officially declared free of rats in May 2003, achieving the world’s largest rat eradication at the time and our country’s largest island eradication to date.
But New Zealand’s legacy of successful eradications doesn’t end there. From the 1980s to the 2010s, we were able to increase the size of island eradications. They went from 200 hectares, to 10,000 hectares, to over 100,000 hectares. “In just 30 years, the rate of possibility hugely increased”.
The techniques that DOC staff on Campbell Island pioneered helped propel the world into exponentially scaling up island eradications of bigger and bigger islands. Now, there have been over 110+ successful island eradications in New Zealand and around 1,000 successful eradications in the world. And New Zealand is responsible for the lion’s share.
Islands across the world are covered in screeching penguins, soaring albatross, and chubby sea lions thanks to predator free action.
Read part two to learn what’s to come for the next 20 years of island restoration. We explore futuristic technology, how New Zealand takes Predator Free 2050 knowledge around the world, and what it’ll take to make New Zealand’s final subantarctic island predator free.
Hiking, camping and hunting with your dog on conservation land.
Image: DOC
If you’re planning on camping, tramping or hunting on conservation land with your best four-legged friend this summer, here’s a quick guide to what you need to know before you go.
PrepareProtectEnjoy!
Prepare
Heading to the hills with your hound can be so much fun, but a successful trip will need a bit of planning and preparation.
Depending on what you’re up to or where you’re headed, your pup might need a permit to be there, or only allowed to be there on lead, or may not be allowed there at all*, so it’s vital you check before you head out: Where you can take your dog and access rules: Dog access (doc.govt.nz)
*You may be issued an infringement fine or prosecuted if you take your dogs into no access areas, controlled areas without a permit, or breach the conditions of your permit.
Visit the Department of Conservation website to find:
Image: DOC
You can also search on the webpages for individual DOC walking tracks and campsites to see what the specific access rules are for the site. For example:
One thing to be aware of is that dogs are not allowed inside DOC huts, so if you’re out on an overnighter, make sure you have a plan to keep your furry friend comfortable, warm and secure from dusk to dawn.
Protect nature
Why is dog access controlled on conservation land?
The short answer is, to protect native wildlife and to protect your dog.
To protect our precious native species, DOC carries out predator control using traps and poisons, and both can harm a dog. Some poisons can be fatal to dogs, so always check for signage and website notifications, and keep your dog on lead to keep them safe in areas where traps or poison are being used.
Dogs have also been known to get themselves into situations with dangerous wildlife such as sea lions and come out worse off. Keeping your dog under control or on a lead can mean the difference between an upsetting day out versus an awesome one.
Consider what’s best for your dog to keep them safe in all scenarios. Accidents and incidents can happen when out and about exploring nature.
Becoming a wildlife-wise dog owner helps to keep our wildlife and your dog safe in nature.
Vulnerable native wildlife
Dog attacks can kill or injure species such as kiwi, penguins, and fur seals. For sensitive species like kiwi, even one death can have a devastating impact on their recovery. It is illegal for dogs to injure or kill native wildlife in New Zealand and there is risk of fines and prosecution for owners.
Non-fatal attacks can also have large impacts. Penguins and seabirds may be scared away from nests and abandon eggs or chicks.
Dogs (and other pets) aren’t allowed in some conservation areas, like National Parks, as the risk to native wildlife is too great. In other areas dogs are allowed but must be kept on a lead. Visit the DOC website to find tracks and campsites where dogs are welcome.
Image: DOC
Dogs on beaches
While your pooch might love a day at the beach, it’s important to remember that lots of native wildlife makes their home on the foreshore.
If you’re hunting with dogs on public conservation land, there are some rules you need to follow. For example, your dog may need to have avian avoidance training and a permit before it can come with you to the hunting block. For more info: Hunting with dogs: Hunting (doc.govt.nz)
Enjoy!
Summer holidays are even better with your dog. They love nothing more than hanging out with you in nature and having an adventure. So – check off what you need to know to keep them safe and legal, make sure you’ve given some thought to how you can protect New Zealand’s native wildlife while you’re out an about, and you’re good to go!
