HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Joyce and Johan – Wairaurahiri Jet

These two caring kiwi’s took out the 2010 Southland Environment Awards Environmental Achiever prize for their volunteer stoat trapping program, great work guys!

Joyce and Johan are very passionate about the bird life in our untouched piece of Fiordland National Park.   They have been successfully trapping stoats and rats along the Wairaurahiri River where their Jet Boating business (Wjet) operates since June 2006.

On average they catch approximately 300 stoats and 300 rats every year.   Stoats kill whenever possible – even animals bigger than they are.  Every opportunity they get to rob a nest of eggs or kill a native NZ bird, they take – even if they aren’t hungry!

The traps all have bright pink spring loaded flags which pop up when the trap is set off.   Every time Johan takes a boat trip down the river he stops at all the traps which have their flags flying to reset them so they can catch more.  Every trap has a sponsor and there is a tally of how many dirt rotten rats and slimy stoats each sponsor has caught in their trap.

As well as down the river, Joyce and Johan also have stoat traps along the South Coast track and another 80 made for the Hump Ridge Track.  We are just on the lookout for further sponsorship so we can fly them to the top and get the traps into position, helping our beautiful native birds.

The most common question asked about their trapping program is – why do you trap the stoats in the first place?  Well, stoats were introduced in New Zealand to help control the growing rabbit problem back in the late 1800′s, unfortunately they like it here a bit too much (especially in our native forests) having no natural preditors!

If you want to know more about Joyce and Johan’s stoat trapping program or their must-do exhilarating jetboat day trip down the fast flowing Wairaurahiri River go to their website www.wjet.co.nz.