The Southland Conservation Board yesterday came out in support of the recently publicised 2022 operation, in which Doc spent $483,260 to catch and exterminate a solitary stoat from the predator-free Chalky Island/Te Kākahu-o-Tamatea in Fiordland.
In an open letter to media, the board publicly thanked Doc for "its dedicated work towards the survival of our taonga species, including kākāpō and kiwi".
Doc’s "valiant" efforts towards capturing the rogue stoat were to be applauded.
Board chairwoman Shona Sangster told the Otago Daily Times she felt the undertaking had been "a pretty lean operation, delivered well".
"We’ve written the letter in response to what we felt was quite a critical tone in the media.
"Where perhaps it’s been useful is in highlighting the costs and challenges of carrying out incursion responses where a single predator ends up where it shouldn’t be, as happened here.
"As we move towards predator-free nationwide, that’s going to require more elimination of predators, as opposed to simple suppression. Elimination is complex and costly."
The board wanted to see separate government funding set aside for incursion responses nationally as, at present, the cost fell on Doc and other stakeholders and volunteers locally, she said.
"Those who take part in an incursion response like this aren’t just sitting around waiting for it to happen.
"They’re pulled away from other roles, and additional resources such as dogs, helicopters, boats and more are called into play.
"Naturally there’s a cost associated with that, but we believe it’s one that provides a good return on investment, when you take account of the bigger picture."
New Zealand’s tourism industry relied in a large part on its conservation activities.
"We’ve been very disappointed recently to see government cuts to Doc funding.
"At the end of the day, that will impact on our threatened species, and on the very things that attract tourists to New Zealand.
"We wanted to speak out in support of the hard work Doc does every day to protect our biodiversity and environmental integrity, in challenging and inhospitable environments like these."
The board would continue to lobby government for dedicated incursion-response funding, Ms Sangster said.
