Experts field questions on eradication risks

Experts convened by Auckland Council for a webinar on the Kawau pest eradication plan sought to allay landowners’ concerns, ranging from what the project will cost them to potential risks to pets and native birds.

Richard Griffiths, an island restoration specialist with the NGO Island Conservation and co-author of a Kawau feasibility report for council, acknowledged at the August 30 event that some landowners were worried about the impact of the project on their way of life.

Since success depended on having access to every property, it would “impose a short-term impact on people...