Huka Trapping Update July 2023
Welcome to the July 2023 Huka Trapping News
Are we making progress on the River Corridor?
We have almost 7,000 catches (total) since June 2018, just over five years ago. The fact that we caught four rats every day in the last 30 days could be a bit depressing, but it seems like the population of pests – particularly rats – are reproducing quickly enough to maintain our supply of customers.
Below is our data from three years for possums and rats to see how things are progressing.
Catches for year ending June
At first glance this looks bad! However, if we look at our trap numbers (below) we see that while we are catching similar numbers year on year, we have many more traps, so you would expect to catch more pests. Which ever way you look at it, we must be better off without all those vermin running about!
Traps in River Corridor as at June each Year
Craters Mountain Bike Park Traps
Craters Mountain Bike Park continues to be closed since the devastation of Gabrielle and as a result there is no trapping taking place. Work is progressing well with logging the damaged areas and we are looking forward to being able get back on our bikes and reorganising our traps. In the meantime, please continue to stay out. People entering illegally will compromise our future access.
Phil Battersby
You may be aware that Phil passed away on June 5th. As well as instigating the Batts trapline (with help from other Batts!), Phil supported Huka Trapping in many ways. He will be missed.
Contact Energy have given us $1,000 to use as a memorial for Phil.
If you have any suggestions for a memorial please reach out.