1. Best Practice Guidance for Predator Control
(I’m Nick Poutu
I work for DOC as a Technical Advisor for animal pest control)
I’m going to speak about best practice guidance for pest control with a focus on trapping

2. Outline Guidance for choosing methods Guidance for method details
How we decide what is best practice
The information behind best practice
Animal welfare considerations
Here is an outline of what I’ll cover
-Where to get guidance for Choosing methods
-and guidance for Method details
-I’ll Show the DOC process for How we decide what is best practice and how the people doing operations contribute
-I’ll look at examples of information behind best practice
-I’ll note some Animal welfare considerations for best practice trapping 2

3. Best practice guidance is to help…
Choose best method for the situation
Apply the method effectively and safely
Best practice guidance material can be used to help you
1. choose best method for the situation, for example controlling possums and rats over thousands of hectares of mountainous or forested terrain will require different methods than in a small accessible bush reserve
2. And it can help you to apply the chosen method effectively and safety. Details like what pattern to place traps on the landscape to ensure most target pests will encounter them; and how to set them to kill the pests and not valued animals

4. Choosing methods
DOC best practice system. Includes a ‘choose your method’ decision support tree document for each pest
Other resources are available such as the Landcare Research Vertebrate Pest Control Decision Support System (
Here are a couple of resources that can help you consider and choose methods. The DOC best practice system includes a ‘choose your method’ decision support a tree document for each pest. This provides information about the pros and cons of each method to help you determine what could be best for your operation. We’ll look at the structure that this system uses shortly.
There are other resources including a Landcare Research system called the Vertebrate Pest Control Decision Support System. Its available online
Here is how it looks..
1. So you select your target pest
2.Then you fill in a series of forms with information about your proposed operation. See the information form titles here. When completed it produces a comparative efficiency scores for different feasible methods.

5. Rats Poison Kill trapping Aerial Hand laid Bait bag Bait station
1080 cereal pellet
Aerial
Pindone cereal pellet
1080 cereal pellet
Hand laid
Pindone cereal pellet
Poison
1080 cereal pellet
Bait bag
Cholecalciferol hard paste
Rats
1080 cereal pellet
Bait station
Cholecalciferol hard paste
1st gen anticoagulants
Here I’ll run through the methods for rat control to demonstrate what’s available and the structure of the DOC chose your method resources. The methods are arranged in levels.
1.At the first level methods are either poisoning or trapping and at this point either method might be technically viable for your operation
2. At the next level we can divide poisoning into the different methods of application – aerial, hand laying, bait bags, or bait stations. Aerial application may be a viable method in large areas but it may not be suited in a very small accessible area. Bait station application may be suitable for smaller sites.
For kill trapping its probably useful to divide into single action traps and self resetting traps
3. Then a third level, the different toxins and bait types available for each method of poison application and examples of the different trap types.
I’ve colored methods that I think are most useful or most used by community led operations in green. I won’t go into the pros and cons of each method here, its more important that those planning the work choose well by having a good understanding the project needs and the site and using the resources to pick pontential appropriate methods.
2nd gen anticoagulants
Single action
Snapback, DOC 150/200
Kill trapping
Self-resetting
Goodnature A24

6. Possums Poison Trapping Aerial Hand laid Bait bag Bait station Kill
1080: Cereal; Carrot
1080: Cereal; Paste; Carrot
Hand laid
Cyanide paste
Poison
1080: Cereal; Paste
Bait bag
Cholecalciferol: Paste; Cereal
ME Zinc Phosphide
Encapsulated Cyanide
Possums
Cholecalciferol: Paste; Cereal
Bait station
ME Zinc Phosphide
Cyanide: Encapsulated; Paste
Here are methods for possum control.
1. Again poisoning or trapping
2. The same broad methods of poison application. I divided trapping into kill and live capture
3. Then the different toxins and bait types available for each method of application. Some can be used for both possums and rats, some are for one or the other. And for kill traps single action or self resetting and for live capture there are leghold or cage traps.
Again in green are the methods I think are most useful or used. In this part of the country the presence of weka and need to avoid killing them may influence whether some methods are viable at your site. For example the use of encapsulated cyanide (feratox) in bait bags is prohibited on conservation land where weka are present. Of course there are lots of other considerations and constraints to work through.
1080: Cereal; Paste, carrot, apple
Single action: e.g. Sentinel, Traponator, Warrior
Kill
Self resetting: Goodnature A12
Trapping
Live capture
Leghold: No1 or 1.5 padded
Cage

7. Best practice methodology
Sources of information include:
DOC best practice material
Landcare Research Vertebrate Pest Control site
Predator Free NZ website. (predatorfreenz.org)
NPCA webpage. ( In future this material will be hosted by MPI led Bionet toolkit.
Predator Free 2050 toolkit is under construction
So having chosen the best method or methods to apply, what are good sources of information for planning to ensure the the method is applied well?
You can Request information from DOC. Staff will be able to provide you any of our best practice material
The Landcare Research Vertebrate Pest Control site includes detailed best practice material
The Predator Free NZ website. Has good well presented information and it includes some advice around ‘backyard trapping’ for urban situations
The NPCA (National Pest Control Agencies) webpage includes industry best practice material….in future this material will be hosted by MPI led Bionet toolkit
The Predator Free 2050 toolkit is under construction, it is planned to have best practice material to support community groups working in ‘parcels of land like reserves

8. How best practice is agreed
How is BP developed and maintained?
Here is the DOC process for updating best practice.
The new information section in the green box here has the information sources used to devise and update best practice. Its done using information from
-science
-anecdotal observations
-reports from completed operations
-trials such as field trials that may be undertaken within an actual operation
-and required standards from legislation and SOPs and the like
Information from these sources may help inform a change or the development of best practice.
In DOC it is discussed by a network group of operational, science, and technical specialists.
The network group may require further information before either making a change to best practice or they may decide not to make any change if the information is not considered to be best practice.
Ideally if new best practice comes out or there is a change to best practice then this would be communicated to key users of the information so it can be implemented.

9. Rat control by kill trapping
Rat traps on lines no greater than 100m apart. Traps no greater than 50m apart.
25m apart on boundary lines; 25 m apart in high density areas.
Initially checked daily until knockdown is achieved (10-20 checks)
Ship rat home ranges in podocarp hardwood forest were 0.6 to 3.2 ha for females; 5.6 to 18.9 ha for males (Perry et al 2009). Field trials and operational reports Rats can quickly move in from the immediately adjoining untreated area (Innes 2005) More rats require more killing capacity Single action traps kill only 1 rat per device. Ship rat density estimates Operational reports
So I’ll show some key points of best practice for a couple of pests and methods and look at the reasons and information behind the key points. Rat control by kill trapping..
1.Rat traps or bait stations on lines no greater than 100m apart . Traps no greater than 50m apart.
2. Traps should be 25m apart on boundary lines; 25 m apart in high density areas.
3. Initially checked daily until knockdown is achieved BP suggests this may take checks
And the respective reasons for these points:
4.Ship rat home ranges are 0.6 to 3.2 ha for females; 5.6 to 18.9 ha for males. So this spacing of traps any wider this this could risk that some females have home ranges that don’t overlap with the trap locations. And field trials and operational reports with these spacings have achieved a satisfactory level of control.
5.Some research has shown that rats can quickly move in from the immediately adjoining untreated area at a small scale at least (Innes 2005)
6. More rats require more killing capacity to reduce numbers quickly enough to achieve control
7.Single action traps kill only 1 rat per device until it is reset
8. And ship rat density estimate can be around 5-10/ha in podocarp hardwood forests
9.Operational reports showed that this amount of trapping required before trap catch rates are reduced

10. Method best practice for rat trapping presented clearly in these quick trapping guides on the Predator Free NZ website. There are versions for in forests and backyards.

11. Stoat control by kill trapping
Stoat traps on lines no greater than 800m to 1km apart, traps up to 200m apart
Lines follow habitat perimeter, ridges, tracks, roads, altitudinal contours and waterways.
Traps should be set on both sides of large rivers and in all available habitats
ha home ranges, core range may be smaller (King and Murphy 2005). Modelling suggests some females may not have sufficient encounters when traps are spaced more widely. These features seem to result in higher catch rates of stoats (Dillks et al 1996) and make servicing easier. There are indications that some individual stoats may not use all habitats (e.g. stoats in alpine zone may not be caught in adjacent forest habitat) (Smith and Jamieson 2005))
Key points for stoat control by kill trapping
1. Stoat traps on lines no greater than 800m to 1km apart, traps up to 200m apart
2. Lines follow habitat perimeter, ridges, tracks, roads, altitudinal contours and waterways.
3. Traps should be set on both sides of large rivers and in all available habitats
And the respective reasons for these points:
4. Stoats have ha home ranges, but core range may be smaller (King and Murphy 2005). And modelling suggests that some females may not have sufficient encounters when traps are spaced more widely than this.
5.These features noted here seem to result in higher catch rates of stoats (Dillks et al 1996) and they make servicing easier.
6 There are indications that individual stoats may not use all habitats (research has shown that some individual stoats in the alpine zone may not use and be caught in adjacent forest habitat)

12. A summary of points presented in the quick trapping guide from the Predator Free Trust website

13. ‘How to set traps’ information
DOCskillable youtube clips
DOC 200 traps for stoats
Victor snapback trap for rats
Sentinel and warrior traps for possums
DOC specification sheets
DOC 150/200/250 traps
Victor snapback traps
Manufacturer or distributor
E.g. Goodnature have very detailed well presented material on their website
So we covered where to get information on choosing methods, and for operational planning of the details. So where can you get ‘How to set traps’ type information, the more detailed stuff the trappers doing the hands-on field work need to follow 1
The DOCskillable youtube clips have information regarding setting/maintaining some traps
DOC 200 traps for stoats
Victor snapback trap for rats
Sentinel and warrior traps for possums
2 show screenshot, here are some of the videos for the DOC 200 – how to install, how to set and service, bonus maintanence tips, using a setting tool, and there are others like calibrating the trigger weight. A wealth of detailed information clearly communicated.
3 The DOC specification sheets are good if you want diagrams for constructing tunnels and showing measurements and describing what a set trap should look like. They are developed for a number of control tools including
DOC 150/200/250 traps
Victor snapback traps
4 Screen shot
5 and some manufacturers or distributors have good detailed information to support the use of their products.
Goodnature have very detailed well presented material on their website
6 screenshot – videos on how to install, service, and remove A24 and A12 traps.

14. Information from operations and field trials
More effective use of devices: Trap maintenance (example see Moehau Environment Group input in DOCSkillable).
Efficacy trials: Kepler rat control with Goodnature A24 traps. Fiordland Conservation Trust & DOC
Trap comparisons. Standard DOC trap box vs run through design. Friends of Rotoiti & DOC
Operational use and reporting of new methods: Use of PredaSTOP (PAPP) for stoats. Whakatane Kiwi Trust
Here are some examples of how those doing the work have contributed to understanding and improvements about some methods:
Users of devices like traps are obviously the ones most likely to refine and improve the use of them. You can see this in some of the DOCSkillable videos with how some groups have learnt and explained the trap maintenance methods that worked best in their operations.
Efficacy trials to determine how well a new method or control tool works. A rat control trial by the Fiordland Conservation Trust with Goodnature A24 traps demonstrated effective rat control with the traps at 100 x 50m layout and then went on to refine this by testing with traps at 100x100m and stil achieve sufficient rat control
There have been trap comparisons such as those with Friends of Rotoiti comparing a run through trap tunnel design with a standard design. This indicated that un-baited run through tunnels could have higher stoat catch rates than baited standard tunnels.
Use and reporting of new methods. The Whakatane Kiwi trust used PredaSTOP (PAPP) for stoats, they provided a ver good operational report on this. This was useful for others because it described the logistics of using PAPP and highlighted practical considerations that need to be taken into account for other considering it.

15. Animal Welfare and trapping
The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) have developed a guideline for evaluating the welfare performance of traps.
NAWAC kill trap test requires 10/10 test animals are rendered irreversibly unconscious within 3 minutes to meet the guideline for acceptable performance.
It is important that trap ‘systems’ are used in a way that gives effective welfare performance. The system includes the trap, any covers, and the way it is set.
Best practice materials and field use should take these considerations into account.
Use available trap systems that have meet NAWAC guideline.
Ensure trap system is configured to strike animals correctly to ensure effective kills.
I’ll briefly touch on animal welfare considerations for trapping..
For those operations targeting rats, possums, or stoats with kill traps, there are traps available that have relatively ‘humane’ performance – they can kill most trapped animals fairly quickly. As far as is practicable we should make use of tools that minimise suffering of the pest animals we need to kill.
The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, NAWAC, have developed a guideline for evaluating the welfare performance of traps. This guideline has been the benchmark used for determining if kill traps are acceptably ‘humane’.
The kill trap test requires that with a minimum sample size of 10 test animals, all must be rendered irreversibly unconscious within 3 minutes to meet the guideline for acceptable killing performance
1 here are the results from the NAWAC pen test of the DOC 200 trap with stoats. The loss of palpebral or blinking reflex, in the 2nd column in from the right there, is used to determine when the animal has lost consciousness, and the time to heart stop confirms death. In this test 9/10 animals where unconscious in under 30 secs, probably near instant, one in 48 seconds. 2
It is important that traps are used in a way that gives effective welfare performance. The system includes the trap, and covers, and how it is set. The NAWAC test results apply to the tested system, not just the trap mechanism.
3 Here is the sentinel trap system for possums that was tested to the NAWAC guideline. The trap is set vertically, has a cover, is set this height above the ramp. These aspects could influence how the animal is positioned when it triggers the trap, therefore they could influence how quickly on average it kills. 4
So Ideally best practice materials should take these considerations into account by.
Using traps that have meet NAWAC guideline where available and practical
Ensure trap systems are configured to strike animals correctly and ensure effective kills

16. Trap
Possum
Rat
(Ship, Norway)
Stoat
Ferret
Weasel
H.hog
Feral Cat
DOC 1501 oþ þ o
DOC 2001
DOC 2501 þþ
Goodnature A24 þo
Victor snapback (mod)
Victor snapback oo
KaMate
Nooski
Snap E
Victor Power Kill
T Rex
Fenn MK4 ý
Fenn MK6
Timms
KBL Tunnel
Possum master
Conibear 120
Sentinel
Warrior
Trapinator
Goodnature A12
PodiTRAP
SA Coni
Twizel kill trap
Belisle Super X 220
Conibear 220
SA2 Kat trap
Victor No.1.5 padded2
Victor No.1 unpadded2
The table here includes NAWAC testing, and results (pass/fail) for kill traps systems that are marketed or in use for targeting the listed pest species.
So empty square is not NAWAC tested but in use or promoted for that species, crossed box is tested and failed to meet guideline, ticked box is passed the guideline for that species.
1.For rats, a number of traps have been tested and passed for at least one rat species, but it would be useful to have test results for more of the snapback type trap systems that are being used. There is an information need here as there is a bit of use and interest in some of these other snapback traps for rats.
For stoats, the DOC series traps, the Goodnature A24 and the modified Victor have all met the guideline
For possums a number of kill trap options that have been tested and passed – the sentinel, traponator, Goodnature A12, and warrior. Note that the Timms trap failed the test, but the result was due to some possums pulling out of the trap during the test. Those that were held were killed within the timeframe.

17. New information needs
Stoat catch rate comparison trial between DOC200 and Goodnature A24 traps
Reports from more operations using Goodnature A24 traps for rat control
More trials to evaluate the efficacy of Goodnature A24 traps for stoat control and non-target exclusion
More rat trap systems tested to NAWAC guideline
DOC best practice system is to be revised and updated
A couple of points where further work should give us better information and potentially improve our best practice guidance….
A Stoat catch rate comparison trial between DOC200 and Goodnature A24 traps is planned
Reports from more operations using Goodnature A24 traps for rat control would give us information for controlling rats with these devices across a wider range of conditions
More trials to evaluate the efficacy of Goodnature A24 traps for stoat control and non-target exclusion will help us to use these traps effectively
More rat trap systems tested to NAWAC guideline to give community led groups in particular more information about traps they may find good to use
The DOC best practice system is to be revised and updated. This will be a chance to update content and fill some of the gaps and consider how the information is best communicated.

18. Summary
Make use of best practice material for choosing methods and applying them well. There are a number of information sources.
Best practice changes (improves), and those doing the hands on work contribute to the improvement.
Consider the welfare of pest animals. Potential for suffering of trapped animals can be minimised by using traps in accordance with best practice material.
So that concludes what I’m covering, in summary
I recommend making use of best practice material for choosing methods and for applying them well. There are a number of information sources.
Best practice changes, it improves, and those doing hands on work contribute to the improvement
Consider the welfare of pest animals. Potential for suffering of trapped animals can be minimized by selecting and using traps thoughtfully and making use of best practice material.