Kōrero: Introduced animal pests

Stoat with rabbit kill

Stoat with rabbit kill

Stoats were first introduced in an effort to control rabbits which, by the 1870s, were eating so much of the grass on sheep farms it was affecting the economy. Farmers put pressure on the government to introduce natural enemies of the rabbit. Despite protests from ornithologists, stoats were imported and released in 1884. They quickly spread to forests and other areas where there were no rabbits, and feasted on poorly flighted birds and their eggs.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Department of Conservation
Reference: 10046743
Photograph by Dave Wills

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Bob Brockie, 'Introduced animal pests - Stoats and cats', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/10128/stoat-with-rabbit-kill (accessed 20 April 2024)

He kōrero nā Bob Brockie, i tāngia i te 24 Sep 2007, updated 1 Jul 2015