Feral pigs almost eradicated from Waiheke Island

Caryn Wilkinson Reporter from Community News

Nearly all the feral pigs have been eliminated from Auckland's Waiheke Island.

The pig control initiative is part of Auckland Council's work under the Regional Pest Management Plan to protect the island's environment, human health and taonga.

Auckland Council senior conservation advisor Deryn Dromgoole said the feral pig control programme had been undertaken strategically across Waiheke over the last four years.

The council had worked closely with landowners to achieve results, he said.

“We’re now at a point where feral pigs remain at very limited numbers in a localised area on the island and we believe that eradication can be achieved sooner than we had originally anticipated.”

Feral pigs can have significant negative impacts on native ecosystems, primary production, infrastructure and are potential vectors of kauri dieback disease and bovine tuberculosis.

Ngāti Pāoa Trust Board co-chair Danella Roebeck said the trustees were supportive of the feral pig control work at their Waiheke Station.

“In addition to the negative impacts feral pigs can have on indigenous species, they also affect production systems by damaging pasture and grain crops, and, more rarely, killing and eating lambs," Roebeck said.

Waiheke Local Board Chair Cath Handley said Waiheke was free of kauri dieback disease and the board needed to be proactive to keep it that way.

"Pigs damage kauri roots which can cause infections to start, and pigs roaming can spread the disease.

“We also need to make sure our waterways are protected from erosion and sedimentation that can result from pig rooting.”

A feral pig is caught in the headlights of a motion capture camera.