Photo: Mark Coote
Hundreds of pests have been killed near Wellington's Transmission Gully - raising concerns it has become a pest highway for the region.
Official Information Act documents given to Greater Wellington Regional Council and seen by RNZ show 226 pests were captured as part of the Transmission Gully trapping programme between November 2022 and January 2024.
These include animals such as stoats, weasels, hedgehogs, mice, ferrets, possums, and rabbits.
Greater Wellington Regional Council Chair Daran Ponter said the news was worrying for conservation efforts like Capital Kiwi and Predator Free Wellington and that current central government budgets were inadequate.
"Despite writing to Transport Minister Simeon Brown back in December, the pest control investment for Transmission Gully remains at $16,400 per annum. This is incredibly light, and the 226 animals trapped could be the tip of the roadkill iceberg along the 27km stretch."
Penny Gaylor, chair of Greater Wellington's Environment Committee and councillor for Kāpiti said Greater Wellington, shared concerns about the Kāpiti Expressway.
"Any lessons learned on Transmission Gully need to be applied to the Kāpiti Expressway immediately. Businesses and landowners have more than enough trouble with rabbits and can do without the additional fear of a Kāpiti mustelid Express Pest-way on their doorsteps."
Greater Wellington environment group director of delivery Jack Mace said pest control needed investment, growing and supporting more community efforts, and cooperation between agencies.
"Our team at Greater Wellington are already using the data map where these pests have been caught and squashed on Transmission Gully. We want to involve as many community catches as possible too. The valuable insight from active groups is a good way of showing what work is going on outside the expressway corridor."
Greater Wellington Regional Council was meeting with Waka Kotahi/Transport Agency's Transmission Gully project team and the Wellington Transport Alliance to discuss trapping plans and opportunities to work together.
A ferret was found dead on the road as far south as Haywards earlier this year.
At the time the regional council believed if the situation was left unchanged it would reverse significant pest eradication results that have been achieved by groups.