Kia ora,

We’re thrilled to share a major milestone for Predator Free Dunedin - and for predator free mahi across Aotearoa.

Ōtepoti/Dunedin has been chosen to help test the future of Predator Free 2050, with Minister of Conservation Hon Tama Potaka this week announcing a $3.9 million investment in Predator Free Dunedin.  

Delivered over three years, the funding will support PFD’s Dunedin Blueprint project – building on the success of the Otago Peninsula programme and enabling PFD to develop innovative approaches that could accelerate predator elimination efforts across New Zealand. 

What will this investment help us do? 

The investment will enable Predator Free Dunedin to focus on eliminating stoats, feral cats and possums across a connected coastal and rural landscape stretching from Port Chalmers to Orokonui Ecosanctuary, out towards Aramoana Peninsula and north to the Blueskin Bay area. Operational details are being finalised with DOC – and we’re looking forward to sharing more information with you in the near future. 

It will also help maintain the Otago Peninsula's possum-free status through stronger biosecurity, monitoring and rapid response systems. 

The mahi across our urban areas will continue. From backyard trapping and trapline volunteers to community trapping groups and school students - this investment recognises those collective efforts and creates an exciting opportunity to build on them. 

Together, these activities will protect existing gains and provide a practical test of how predator elimination can be achieved and sustained across real‑world landscapes where communities, farmland and conservation areas meet. 

This success belongs to all of us 

We thank the Department of Conservation for its leadership, investment and confidence in PFD, and look forward to working closely together on this next phase of the project. We also acknowledge the valued support of our funders and partners, including Dunedin City Council, City Forests Ltd and Wenita, and the important historical support of the Otago Regional Council. 

To our volunteers, supporters, mana whenua, landowners, researchers, community groups, funders and partners – thank you. In particular, we acknowledge Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki and Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou for their ongoing partnership and guidance. 

Read the full announcement 

Find out more about what this investment means for Dunedin, the Predator Free 2050 movement, and the next stage of The Dunedin Blueprint. 

🔦 Spotlight on Possums 

June saw over 150 Dunedin residents of all ages don boots and puffer jackets and head out into the night to put the spotlight on possums. 14 groups reported through the online form that they had seen or heard signs of a possum during their outing during the week of the event. Possum reports increased on either side of the event itself – and the event has shown how much impact people can have for local wildlife, even if trapping is not their thing.

🐈 Wild Dunedin Festival – Cat Microchipping Clinics 

Predator Free Dunedin joined forces with Otago Polytechnic’s School of Animal Health to offer subsidised cat microchipping as part of the Wild Dunedin NZ Festival of Nature in April. Being a responsible cat companionship begins with simple steps such as registered microchipping – however costs and convenience often proved to be a barrier to getting this done. By offering a subsidised service during the day and again in the evening these barriers could be reduced. A diverse range of people attended their clinics, and it was a great opportunity to talk to them, meet their moggys, hear some great stories – and of course talk responsible cat companionship! One father and daughter brought in their cat that – as a stray – had followed the daughter home from school and was now living its best life with them. Another older couple had been given the ‘hard word’ from their adult daughter after she saw the event posted on social media.

🌿Possum Free Otago Peninsula Update 

PFD continues to monitor the Otago Peninsula for possum reinvasion. The team have a strong monitoring and biosecurity system in place, with FTP AI traps and AI cameras in key potential reinvasion pathways. Our ‘report a possum’ online tool and community networks have also been invaluable. Eight reports have been received that have been promptly followed up by and investigated by the team – including Scout the scat detection dog - with seven reports closed due to no further evidence of possum presence. One report resulted in detection and removal of a possum with follow-up surveillance detecting no further evidence of possums. 

We encourage people to keep reporting sightings of possums or their presence, and this can be done through our online tool www.reportapossum.nz. 

Meanwhile, we’ve been hearing some great stories from Peninsula residents about the changes they have seen since the removal of possums gained traction – some of which you can read here:  

For more trapline tidbits check out our website!