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Story: Introduced animal pests

Poisoning eggs

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Poisoning eggs

These hen eggs are being injected with poison, and will be used as stoat bait. Stoats are very difficult to control as they have short lives and breed prolifically, and those killed in one area are often replaced by others living nearby. Stoats are usually controlled by fenn traps, which are like large mouse traps, but as they can become shy of traps, other methods such as poisoned eggs have been trialled.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10051864

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How to cite this page

Bob Brockie, Introduced animal pests – Stoats and cats, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10130/poisoning-eggs (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Bob Brockie, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 July 2015.

Comments

Blair
29 September 2015
Has poisoning the eggs worked ? or can the stoat know that its a bad egg, as they do with rotten eggs?