An article in today's Herald claims "The benefits of New Zealand's $24 million worth of predator-proof fences has been challenged by research which argues that they create "small, expensive zoos"."
Full article is here http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10738309
Forest & Bird » Terrestrial
Predator-proof fencing of limited value
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Posted 10 months ago #
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I agree we Bruce Burns that the advocay and educational values fenced sanctuaries provide are an important consideration. A good example is the Zealandia sanctuary in Wellington www.visitzealandia.com (formerly the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary), which provides people with a unique opportunity to see species like tuatara, little spotted kiwi and takahe in their natural environment. These species have been driven from the mainland by mammalian predators and habitat loss and there is little hope (at least in the short term) of establishing viable populations on the mainland other than in fenced sanctuaries.
Without these easily-accessible places, practically the only people who would get to see our most threatened species in a cage-free environment are scientists. Removing the opportunity for personal experience is extremely damaging for a species - with conservation, out of sight nearly always means out of mind.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Appreciate fully what you're saying Ertvarkie, just aware that F&B's Ark in the Park for example has (deliberatly) not used fences of any sort, and with trapping and poisoning has created a mainland island sufficiently pest-controlled for the transfer of several species of native bird like kokako, robins, whiteheads, etc to it, and it is open to the public to go and see them.
Puketi Trust's work comes to mind also. Has the Puketi Trust got pest numbers down without fences enough that they've been able to transfer any birds there yet?It could also be argued that places like Tiritiri Matangi and Maud Island for example can provide sanctuaries where people can see birds and 'keep them' for transfers, without the need for expensive fencing.
I've heard rumours that the sanctuaries at Karori and Maungatautari have both been unable to stop mice invading them in perpetuity. I just wonder myself whether the amount of money put into creating and then maintaining pest-proof fencing mightn't be better spent on forms of pest-control on the mainland?
My own thought is that zoos like Auckland with it's planned very expansive native section with five native habitats as "enclosures" (wetland, forest, high country, the night, and the coast) each with a range of plant and animal species typical of the area, will supercede the place of many mainland sanctuaries, because they will have species easily accessible to the public (eg kiwi, long-finned eels, various birds, etc etc) as well as providing reservoirs of plants and animals for transfers.
Interested to hear what others think about this issue. It seems to have pros and cons either way.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Here's a link about the planned native section at the Auckland Zoo http://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/whats-happening/te-wao-nui.aspx
Even if you don't like the idea of zoos, take a look at what is planned. The change away from exhibiting individual species to one where whole habitats form the "enclosures". Starts to make them look a bit like how a lot of people see some fenced sanctuaries, I fear.Posted 10 months ago # -
Hi Anne. Yes, you're not wrong about the mice! Excluding mice from fenced sanctuaries is practically impossible for two main reasons. Firstly, the mesh only needs to be damaged enough to poke a pencil through to allow a baby mouse in (the crafty little beggers can flatten their skeletons!) Secondly, moreporks, falcons and kaka have all been known to carry live prey. Given that female mice are nearly always pregnant, the chances of reinvasion are pretty high. However, I think a greater risk to fenced sanctuaries (especially those in urban areas) are pest plants. Seeds are even harder to keep out than mice!
Ark in the Park is extremely encouraging. I've been there myself several times, and had the thrill of seeing hihi (tho, sadly, not kokako). It certainly gives hope to the idea of restoring a complete ecosystem without fences. The downside, I imagine, is the need for ongoing poisoning and trapping. I would also suspect a reluctance on behalf of DOC to allow transfers of species like tuatara, kakapo or little spotted kiwi at this stage - I'd say fences still provide a certain amount of comfort in terms of human 'predators' like wildlife smugglers as much as the furrier fiends.
Islands like Tiri, that are easily accessible to large urban populations are realitively few and far between. Auckland has a relative abundance of them, but other places are not so lucky. I guess Wellington has Matiu and Chch has Quail Island, both of which are being restored, but as i understand it, access is still more limited than sanctuaries like Zealandia. Certianly with Matiu, there's a limit on visitor numbers and the ferry will set you back about $25, so it's not cheap. That pesky Wellington wind doesn't always make for a smooth sailing, either!
Anyway, it's a very interesting discussion and it would certainly be good to get a few more views on it.
Posted 10 months ago # -
At the risk of hijacking this discussion, I've only just had another point made to me, and that is that Ark in the Park is fortunate in having a big population nearby to support it (and ASB Trust funds because it's in the Auckland area certainly help keep it going!). I'm afraid I keep forgetting this - as with needing to be reminded that there's lots of islands up here - and other places don't have that luxury.
Posted 10 months ago # -
It is horses for courses, if these fenced areas show the public what can be achieved, provide learning opportunities and inspire some future conservationists then they have intangible value, but is it worth the huge cost? Paul Scofield and others have published about this in Vol 35 of the NZ J Ecology (probably where the Herald feed came from?). At Puketi we regularly get asked why we haven't built a fence. People forget they require enormous maintenance and there may be landowner issues (e.g. Maungatautari). I don't think fences are the be all and end all, but they have a role. If I had the money it would cost to build and maintain a fence at Puketi I still wouldn't do it there, I would put the money in the bank, then expand our management area and run it forever off the interest (by the way we have successfully introduced robins and have plans for kokako). Projects near a city have a huge volunteer base available which is enormously useful to them, but then they end up paying project managers etc, which, when you don't have volunteers to manage you don't usually need. One size doesn't fit all.
Posted 9 months ago #
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