About 100 possums have been caught in the Lake Hayes area over the past three weeks through an Animal Health Board exercise designed to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (Tb).
The bulk of the possum trapping, done by Otago Pest Services Ltd (OPSL), was carried out around Slopehill, Dalefield, the Lake Hayes shoreline and the Shotover River bank.
OPSL's Jim Hughes said possum numbers were high along the river bank, but "relatively low" across the rest of the area.
"The results of the trapping operation indicate that possum numbers in the area were more or less what we had expected.
"Importantly, though, it was encouraging to see possum densities have remained low across farmland areas" he said.
Scientific analysis linked 70% of new bovine Tb herd infections to wildlife, particularly possums.
Reducing possum numbers to low levels decreased the risk of the disease being passed on to farmed cattle and deer.
Local farmer and Otago TBfree Committee member Phill Hunt thanked residents of Lake Hayes for their support during the operation.
"Tb control is an important issue in the Queenstown Lakes and wider Central Otago areas.
"It is great to see the residents of Lake Hayes support this phase of possum control and assist in eradicating Tb from the area.
"Numerous environmental benefits also stem from an operation of this kind."
Tb was first diagnosed in cattle on the Crown Terrace in the 1990s and has since been found in deer herds and the wild animal population in the Wakatipu basin.
The Animal Health Board was seeking to eradicate the disease through livestock Tb testing, strict movement controls and investment in possum and other pest control, which helped to maintain buffer zones, preventing infected wild animals from spreading into Tb-free areas.
Possum control around the Crown Terrace and Arrow River areas would continue for the next four weeks.
Public areas where possum control had been undertaken were clearly signposted, Mr Hughes said.