Landmark Otago investment backs next generation of predator control

29 Sept

Written by Predator Free Dunedin

Media Release
Thursday 29 October 2026 – for immediate release.

Issued by Predator Free Dunedin and Southern Lakes Sanctuary

Predator Free Dunedin and Southern Lakes Sanctuary have welcomed a $3.3 million, three-year investment from Otago Regional Council to accelerate two of Otago’s largest landscape-scale predator-control programmes.

A PFD AI trap network gateway at Mihiwaka, Dunedin

SLS team monitoring takahe in the Rees Valley.

Southern Lakes Sanctuary will receive $1.8 million over three years, while Predator Free Dunedin will receive $1.5 million through the Large-scale Environmental Fund.

The decision was unanimously supported by councilors, providing both organisations with three years of funding certainty to plan ahead, retain skilled people and maintain momentum.

The investment backs two established programmes working at the leading edge of predator elimination and control, and conservation, while creating an opportunity to share the knowledge, systems and experience developed through their work with other communities across Otago. Predator Free Dunedin and Southern Lakes Sanctuary will both contribute their capability beyond their own project boundaries - helping build the foundations for a more connected, region-wide approach to pest control across Otago.

For Predator Free Dunedin, Project Lead Rhys Millar says the funding provides the certainty needed to take on one of New Zealand’s most ambitious mainland predator-elimination challenges.

“We’re taking on something that has never been done at this scale and complexity on the mainland: working to eliminate possums, stoats and feral cats together from a landscape of farms, forestry and homes.”

“This is hard work and it is deliberately ambitious. But what excites us is that the value extends well beyond the places where we’re putting traps on the ground. We’ve learned an enormous amount about what works, what doesn’t, the technology, systems and sequencing needed to tackle predators at scale, and we want other communities across Otago to benefit from that.”

“That’s a really important part of this investment for us. We’ll be pushing the boundaries, testing approaches and learning along the way. If we can share both our wins and what we learn when things don’t work, other groups can start further ahead.”

Communities around Otago are dealing with significant pest pressures and can benefit from systems and experience already developed by established programmes such as Predator Free Dunedin and Southern Lakes Sanctuary.

Cornerstone investment for Southern Lakes Sanctuary

Southern Lakes Sanctuary represents more than 100 community groups, landowners and businesses. The programme currently undertakes predator suppression across approximately 250,000 hectares of the Southern Lakes, with the funding enabling active suppression to extend across a further 50,000 hectares.

For Southern Lakes Sanctuary, the investment provides a cornerstone for the next phase of its work and a foundation from which to seek further philanthropic, business and government investment.

Paul Kavanagh, Chief Executive of Southern Lakes Sanctuary, says:

“This is a significant moment for landscape-scale conservation in the Southern Lakes. Our work spans an immense and rugged landscape, into remote valleys and alpine terrain where getting people, equipment and monitoring systems into the field takes considerable planning, expertise and resources.

“Volunteers are at the heart of conservation across our region, but protecting a landscape of this scale also requires dedicated teams and infrastructure to reach the places where sustained predator control would otherwise be difficult or simply unfeasible. ORC’s investment is an incredible boost, giving us the confidence to build on what’s already been achieved and extend that work further. We take the responsibility that comes with ratepayer funding extremely seriously and are committed to demonstrating the outcomes it delivers.”

“Our ambition is to connect and support conservation across the full 850,000-hectare Southern Lakes Sanctuary project area. We’ve established a platform that unites the work of six major conservation organisations, bringing together communities, conservation expertise, technology and partnerships at scale. This investment is an important step towards that vision, and we’ll continue working with philanthropic, business and government partners to secure the further funding needed to realise it.”

Three-year commitment protects momentum

For both Southern Lakes Sanctuary and Predator Free Dunedin, the three-year commitment provides the certainty needed to plan and deliver complex landscape-scale programmes as a whole, rather than one funding year at a time.

Multi-year certainty helps both organisations retain skilled people, maintain operational momentum and invest time in delivery, monitoring and collaboration, instead of repeatedly preparing for the next funding cliff.

Predator Free Dunedin Project Lead Rhys Millar says the commitment recognises the strength of both established programmes.

“Southern Lakes Sanctuary and Predator Free Dunedin have different approaches and work in different landscapes, but both have experienced teams, strong partnerships and a track record of delivering predator control work at scale. A three-year commitment gives both programmes the confidence to keep skilled people in place, build momentum year on year and stay focused on measurable outcomes.”

“The responsibility that comes with this level of ratepayer investment isn’t lost on either organisation. The challenge now is to turn that certainty into results that endure well beyond the three years of funding.”

About Predator Free Dunedin

Predator Free Dunedin is a conservation collective of more than 20 organisations working together to protect indigenous biodiversity across Dunedin and wider Otago. It brings together mana whenua, landowners, community groups, volunteers, researchers, local and central government and delivery partners.

The programme has already eliminated possums from the 9,000-hectare Otago Peninsula. Since 2018, more than 27,000 possums and 1,600 stoats, ferrets and weasels have also been removed from the landscape around Orokonui Ecosanctuary.

The new investment supports the next step: a 55,000-hectare programme with around 10,000 hectares specifically managed for multi-species predator elimination. At its heart is a 3,180-hectare elimination zone where Predator Free Dunedin is working towards the complete removal of possums, stoats and feral cats from a connected rural and peri-urban landscape.

The work is one of only four nationally significant Predator Free 2050 proof-of-concept projects selected by the Department of Conservation.

About Southern Lakes Sanctuary

Southern Lakes Sanctuary (SLS) is a landscape-scale conservation initiative spanning a project area of approximately 850,000 hectares.

SLS brings together six established conservation organisations (Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust, Whakatipu Wildlife Trust, Predator Free Wānaka, Mātakitaki Conservation Group and Forest & Bird, Central Otago Lakes Branch), working with more than 100 community organisations, landowners and businesses. Together, the collective coordinates predator control, threatened species recovery, biodiversity monitoring and community action across a landscape extending from Makarora and the Upper Clutha through the Mātakitaki, Rees Valley and across the wider Whakatipu and Wānaka landscapes.

Recent achievements include the reintroduction of takahē to the Rees Valley in 2025, which is now home to New Zealand’s second-largest wild takahē population, and the translocation of mohua (yellowhead) to the Mātakitaki Valley in October 2025. These milestones build on sustained predator control and close collaboration with mana whenua, the Department of Conservation, conservation partners, landowners and communities.

ENDS