Updated November 01, 2019 12:19:57 <\/p>\n
Lord Howe Island could soon be declared a rodent-free zone, as a controversial baiting program comes to an end.<\/p>\n
The rodent eradication program (REP) started on the popular tourist island in June and involved cereal pellets laced with poison being placed inside 22,000 lockable traps around the island.<\/p>\n
Inaccessible areas were targeted by aerial drops of the same bait.<\/p>\n
At the time, it was estimated there were 150,000 rats and 210,000 mice on Lord Howe some 1,000 rodents for each of the island's 350 residents.<\/p>\n
Today, the last of the poisonous pellets will be placed into traps, marking the end of the baiting program.<\/p>\n
The traps will soon be collected and taken away, which will take about a month. <\/p>\n
\"We are running exactly as planned,\" said Peter Adams, chief executive of Lord Howe Island's board.<\/p>\n
\"You get a rapid reduction in the number of rodents at first, and then you get a few little blips of activity, so that's exactly what's happened here.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, we believe it will be a successful eradication,\" he told the ABC<\/p>\n
The island will be monitored for two years, and if no rats or mice are spotted, the area will be declared a rodent-free zone.<\/p>\n
\"Let's say there was a pregnant female, or a breeding pair left somewhere out there, it would take some time before that becomes obvious,\" Mr Adams said.<\/p>\n
\"It's such a rugged and inaccessible island in many ways.\"<\/p>\n
The baiting was deemed safe for humans, but as a precaution, residents were told not to consume local eggs, milk or the livers of fish.<\/p>\n
A supply of the rat poison antidote, Vitamin K1, was also brought to the island, but Mr Adams said it wasn't needed.<\/p>\n
\"Not a symptom, not a concern at all, so while the hospital was ready with all the things they needed, there was absolutely no need for it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
There were also concerns two endemic species of bird, the Lord Howe Island woodhen and the currawong, might be particularly at risk of eating the bait.<\/p>\n
The former is an endangered bird, which was nursed back from the brink of extinction on the island in the 1980s only a few hundred exist.<\/p>\n
The species were taken into captivity while the REP took place placed in cages and looked after by staff from Sydney's Taronga Zoo.<\/p>\n
\"We've made sure that any animal, any bird, that was found dead, has been autopsied and tested,\" Mr Adams said <\/p>\n
\"We've had way less deaths from non-target species than was expected, or in our permits, that's been really encouraging,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"All of the currawongs have now been re-released back into the wild the woodhens won't be released until all of the bait has been retrieved from the bait stations.\"<\/p>\n
It is thought mice first appeared on Lord Howe Island around 1850, and the rats came later, after escaping from a sinking ship off the coast in 1918.<\/p>\n
They've played a role in the extinction of several species of plants and animals.<\/p>\n
Despite that, the REP has been a controversial issue among islanders.<\/p>\n
Some didn't want it to go ahead, fearing it would do more harm than good, killing native animals.<\/p>\n
Tensions boiled over earlier in the year, when a fight took place between two locals.<\/p>\n
\"There'll always be skeptics but I think things have settled a lot, and people really do hope that it has been successful,\" Mr Adams said.<\/p>\n
Topics:animals,human-interest,animal-welfare,pests-diseases-and-control-methods,control-methods,pest-control,pests,local-government,government-and-politics,community-and-society,lord-howe-island-2898<\/p>\n
First posted November 01, 2019 05:14:22 <\/p>\n
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Lord Howe Island rodent eradication program on track for success as last bait traps laid - ABC News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Updated November 01, 2019 12:19:57 Lord Howe Island could soon be declared a rodent-free zone, as a controversial baiting program comes to an end. Continue reading