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Download AudioThe Tupuna Maunga Authority is declaring war on rabbits.
In a three year programme with a $3 million contribution from the Department of Conservation’s Jobs for Nature fund, it intends to hire up to 39 people to eradicate pests from 14 maunga across Tamaki Makaurau.
Operations manager Nick Turoa says rats, mice, stoats, and possums also pose a threat.
He says rabbits burrow into sensitive archeological sites on the maunga – some of the last remnants of original Māori settlement in Tamaki Makaurau.
“We have controlled all the rabbits on Maungawhau, Owairaka, and we think Ohinerau so we need to get a rabbit dog up there just to confirm but there are still rabbits on Maungakiekie, Mangere Mountain and a couple of other sites so we will be using some of this time and money to see if we can eradicate on those particular maunga,” Tupara.
