Annual Community Survey Te Korowai o Waiheke
5 years of findings 2020 - 2024
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Te Korowai o Waiheke (TKOW; est. 2018) is a landscape-scale project with two objectives: firstly, to eradicate stoats from the 92km2 island of Waiheke in the Tīkapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf Marine Park; secondly, to test the technical, social and economic feasibility of eradicating from the island. Translated as “the cloak of Waiheke” the community trust’s name acknowledges that collaboration between many groups, organisations, and individuals is needed to achieve the goal of restoring the island’s native birdsong.
The Annual Community Survey measures changes in the awareness of TKOW activities, involvement in neighbourhood predator control groups or predator control carried out individually, community views and motivations for controlling and eradicating predators, rates of pet ownership, and views on controlling or eradicating other animal pests on the island. Collecting regular feedback helps TKOW better understand where the information gaps lie and identify areas where further community input is required while also socialising the activities carried out by the organisation.
● Findings cover five years of surveying a broad cross-section of Waiheke market segments identified by TKOW. Respondents (n=3263) included those already controlling rats, or not engaged in rat control; Part-timers, Business owners/operators, Boaties, Youth, Tourists, Large Landowners, and Iwi.
● Overall, Waiheke locals and visitors to the island prioritise conservation and investment in pest control much more so than a random sample of respondents from around Aotearoa.
● Averaged data 2020 – 2024 show that among locals, a consistently high percentage support eradicating stoats (96%) and rats (98%) from Waiheke, with 80% agreeing that TKOW has the technical ability to eradicate both predators. ● Over the last five years, the TKOW project has become much more well-known among locals and tourists, underscoring the strength of organisational communication strategies and greater project socialisation through the four rat operational trials completed involving 1746 properties.
● Controlling rats is a very high priority for Waiheke locals with over two-thirds of respondents either doing it themselves, participating in a neighbourhood group, or employing a contractor. Bait stations are the preferred method.
● Although over four-fifths of respondents would agree to TKOW field team setting or monitoring tools on their property, results from the three rat operational trials 2022 – 2024 (Ostend, Oneroa and Surfdale) showed almost all individual properties (95 – 96%) permitted bait stations and monitoring devices to be installed and maintained by TKOW field staff.
● The most common reason for controlling rats is to bring fauna back to the island and see their populations grow i.e. protecting/ attracting birds or other wildlife. Other reasons are mostly personal - protecting property including houses, boatsheds, crops, vegetable gardens and plants.
● Many locals know they need to speedily report stoat sightings to TKOW to aid island-wide eradication efforts, with just under half of locals aware of the four different pathways they could use (i.e. TKOW Web- and Facebook pages, dedicated phone number or email).
● Waiheke islanders love their pets, especially cats and dogs. Half of locals own one or more pets each and over three-quarters agree on the need for more responsible pet ownership.
● Over two-thirds of locals think that feral/unowned cats, rabbits, and mice should either be controlled or eradicated, showing a general acknowledgment of pest impacts on native ecosystems and personal property. However, the impacts of hedgehogs are poorly understood.
