Predator Control Course

This course was run by Papa Taiao Earthcare and took place at The Gate in Ōtaki Gorge Road on 6 & 7 June 2023.

Here is a reflection on the course written by Liam Campbell, one of the seven students who attended:

I chose to do this course because it sounded interesting, I enjoy being outdoors, and we could also gain lots of credits from it. Duncan, the guy who ran it, made all of the learning really fun and engaging. The mix of practical and theory I thought was good too. The group of people the course was with was really cool, everyone wanted to be there and actually enjoyed learning about everything. The location was also really awesome. We got to build and take home rat traps which is pretty cool so we can continue trapping at home. While we were on the course we set traps on the property we stayed at and learnt all about the different traps used in the industry. Duncan also sent out an email with links to jobs in the area to keep an eye on in the future if we were interested.

I learnt tons on the course including; how to set a bunch of traps (flipping timmys, D-Rats, Victors, DOC 200/150s, and about 15 others). Also how different pests behave - their habitat, what they eat, how far they roam looking for food, how to tell stoats, weasels, and ferrets apart and different baits to use.