Research & Development World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars

The End of the Rat Race? New Zealand Aims to Become Rat Free

By R&D Editors | July 25, 2016

Their abilities to travel, multiply and spread disease have always made rats one of mankind’s greatest pests.

New Zealand says it’s time to wipe them out. Every last one of them.

Prime Minister John Key on Monday announced an ambitious plan to completely rid the South Pacific nation of rats and some other nuisance animals, including possums and stoats, by the year 2050.

The government is hoping a rat-free countryside will give a boost to native birds, including the iconic kiwi. Many bird species are threatened with extinction because rats and other pests feast on their eggs and compete with them for food.

New Zealand is hoping to build on its success in eradicating rats from several of its smaller islands.

However, some scientists caution the goal, while laudable, will be extremely difficult to achieve in a nation that’s similar in size to the United Kingdom.

Speaking from a wildlife sanctuary in Wellington, Key said the goal would require the help of everyone from philanthropists to indigenous Maori tribes.

“This is the most ambitious conservation project attempted anywhere in the world, but we believe if we all work together as a country we can achieve it,” he said.

He said the government would initially contribute 28 million New Zealand dollars ($20 million) over four years toward setting up a company to run the program, and would consider partially matching money contributed by local councils and businesses.

Key acknowledged the goal would only be achieved with scientific advances.

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation has eradicated rats from several small islands using traps, poisons and baits. And it has also intensively managed some areas on the main islands to make them safer for native birds.

But it would require a massive escalation of those efforts to completely wipe out the pests.

Ecologist James Russell, from the University of Auckland, has written about the idea before.

“I really do think it’s possible,” he said. “It will require people working in every nook and corner of the country.”

He said getting rid of the pests would make a huge difference to the health of native flora and fauna.

But Jacqueline Beggs, another ecologist from the university, said eliminating pests from small, uninhabited islands was one thing, but getting everybody from farmers to anti-government types to agree on the idea would prove much more difficult, if not impossible.

“It’s definitely a fantastic challenge,” she said. “It will really stretch the boundaries.”

Beggs said she also worries the goal could distract from other important environmental issues and could even create new problems, such as an explosion in the population of mice.

Related Articles Read More >

Argonne webinar to explore the challenges of recycling lithium-ion batteries and solutions
U.S. DOE grants $25M to advance clean hydrogen technologies for electricity generation 
Advanced Ionics secures $4.2M for decarbonization of industrial hydrogen production
MilliporeSigma’s ZooMAb antibodies earns first-ever ACT Label from My Green Lab
2021 R&D Global Funding Forecast

Need R&D World news in a minute?

We Deliver!
R&D World Enewsletters get you caught up on all the mission critical news you need in research and development. Sign up today.
Enews Signup

R&D World Digital Issues

February 2020 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R& magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • 2021 Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars