Rats or no rats?

The rat that was reportedly sighted on Rakino on 11 March has not been located. Neither has any independent evidence of its presence.

The weekend following the sighting saw a large operation swing into action which included several hundred traps, a number of monitoring tunnels and a certified rodent detection dog searching the island for two days. Another certified dog was on the island for two days following Easter. Neither of these dogs indicated a rodent. Likewise, no tracks, or other indications of rodent presence have emerged.

This does not necessarily mean the original sighting was wrong. There may still be a rat on the island. The Department of Conservation has now removed most of their traps and left the island after two weeks of trapping and searching.

The existing network of bait stations and tracking cards will hopefully be renewed next weekend.

Please remain vigilant and report anything you think may be of interest.

This operation was led on the ground by the Department of Conservation and supported financially by the Auckland Regional Council. The cost is likely to have exceeded $10,000. From the first indication that there was a rat on Rakino both agencies immediately and unconditionally threw there support behind us. This was extremely reassuring, and came at what was probably the most difficult time of the year with over 1000 people on Rakino for the Jazz festival and high numbers in general over the long weekend.

As a community our gratitude should be extended to DOC and the ARC who have responded to this crisis [whether it be real or imagined].

Please feel free to contact the following key people, and show them as a community we are very grateful for their support:

Jack Craw Biosecurity Manager ARC jack.craw@arc.govt.nz

Phil Brown DOC – Incident Controller pbrown@doc.govt.nz

Ditch Keeling DOC – Operation Manager pkeeling@doc.govt.nz

Cheers John

Rats!

The rat that had been sighted on Rakino Island on 11 March has not yet been located.

The Department of Conservation, supported by the Auckland Regional Council, has led a response to this sighting which has seen a significant operation put in place in an attempt to locate and trap the rat. DOC has had three staff on the island since Friday 14 March. They will continue to have a number of staff on the Island in the coming week/s. There have been 250 traps set in the general area of Sandy Bay, Home Bay, South Pacific Road (South end) and Golden Heights bush escarpment. These traps are identified by a red “corflute” cover. The trap is located under this and pegged to the ground with wire. They are baited with a non toxic formula. No poison has been distributed around the Island.

A large number of these traps have been set on private property in the area mentioned above. They are not hidden and if there is one on your property it will be obvious. Unfortunately given the urgency of the situation it has not been possible to consult with all persons affected. If you have any issues in relation to the traps please see me, I will be on the island from Thursday night. These traps will be checked daily by myself.

Please do not tamper with any traps you see around the Island, it is important pressure is maintained on this rat. If you see anyone tampering with any traps please mention to them how important it is that they are left untouched. PLEASE TREAT ALL TRAPS AS SET AND DISCUSS WITH YOUR CHILDREN WHAT THEY ARE AND WHY THEY ARE THERE. Please keep pets under control near the traps.

The traps in the immediate area of the jazz festival will be deactivated on Saturday morning and reset on Saturday night, once again please treat all traps as set.

Please try not to leave alternative food sources for the rat in an accessible location.

I will be asking fullers to alert passengers on the ferry on Saturday to the situation upon leaving Auckland and again just prior to arrival at Rakino. Please discuss this email with your neighbours in case they have not seen it.

Capturing this rat is an expensive and difficult exercise, and we are very fortunate to have DOC and the ARC right behind us on this.

Any issues or questions please call in on the island (bach with flagpole on Woody Bay Rd) or catch me as I am going around the island checking the traps.

Many thanks

John MacKenzie

rakinoisland@xtra.co.nz

A Rat on Rakino

On 11 March a rat was sighted at Sandy Bay. A joint response will be commencing on 14 March in order to trap this rat. Please be aware that there will be rat poison and traps around the island. Further signage will be erected over the next few days. This response is going to require a significant effort, and assistance is requested from the Rakino community. If you are able to help, please meet at the hall on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th March (or either day) at 9.00am.

The community will be assisted by the Department of Conservation and the Auckland Regional Council.

We have all enjoyed rat free status for the last 6 years. We need to act quickly to preserve the way of life we have enjoyed for those 6 years.

If you need to contact me please phone Anne 372 6087. I will be on the Island from Friday 14 through to Monday 17, otherwise my e-mail address is rakinoisland@xtra.co.nz

See you there,

John MacKenzie