A reminder to dog owners to please keep your dog on a lead while passing through current operation areas. Signage will be removed when there is no risk to public or dogs (usually up to 8 months following operation).
To find alternative trails to walk your dog during rabbit shooting operations in your area, check out the interactive map below:
Note: Zoom in on map to see colour coded trails indicating where dogs must be on leash (blue), can be off leash (green) or not allowed (red).
Click below for details of upcoming rabbit baiting operations.
We've employed the services of a professional contractor to carry out rabbit control operations using pindone on three sites across Whakatipu Basin from Monday 14 July.
These areas include:
Morven Ferry Reserve (starting Monday 28 July).
Twin Trails – from Zoological Gardens to bank below Hawthorne Drive (starting Friday 25 July).
Queenstown Event Centre Hay Paddock (starting Monday 28 July).
What to expect
There will be three pindone bait drops scheduled a week apart to be carried out by motorbike and helicopter, depending on weather.
Pindone bait dyed green will be present on the ground in this area while signage is in place.
Public walking tracks through the reserve may be closed temporarily if work is undertaken nearby. If you are asked to wait by the contractor, please do so.
This pesticide is poisonous to humans and domestic animals. As a precaution, always remember:
Do not touch the bait
Watch children at all times
Do not eat animals from these areas or within 2km of it
Do not allow dogs access to animal carcasses or bait
Keep dogs on leash and under control at all times
Signage will be removed when there is no risk to the public or dogs.
Area of works
Twin Trails – from Zoological Gardens to bank below Hawthorne Drive (above the Shotover River Delta)
We've employed the services of a professional contractor to carry out rabbit control operations using pindone on three sites across the Upper Clutha from Monday 14 July.
These areas include:
Albert Town Old Oxidation Ponds (Cameron Creek)
Cardrona River Mouth Reserve
Little Mount Iron Reserve
Peninsula Bay Reserve – Bremner Bay to Waimana Place
Clutha Outlet Reserve
What to expect
Three pindone bait drops scheduled a week apart to be carried out by motorbike and helicopter, depending on weather.
Pindone bait dyed green will be present on the ground in this area while signage is in place.
Public walking tracks through the reserve may be closed temporarily if work is undertaken nearby. If you are asked to wait by the contractor, please do so.
This pesticide is poisonous to humans and domestic animals. As a precaution, always remember:
Do not touch the bait
Watch children at all times
Do not eat animals from these areas or within 2km of it
Do not allow dogs access to animal carcasses or bait
Keep dogs on leash and under control at all times
Signage will be removed when there is no risk to the public or dogs.
Area of works
Albert Town Old Oxidation Ponds (Cameron Creek)
Cardrona River Mouth Reserve
Little Mount Iron Reserve
Peninsula Bay Reserve – Bremner Bay to Waimana Place
Whakatipu Reforestation Trust are overseeing a rabbit pindone baiting operation on QLDC land starting on 1 April 2025.
About the operation
Pindone baiting stations have been placed in four locations in Whitechapel Reserve. The bait is not broadcast in the open but in tamper proof feeding stations which are dog proofed and fixed in place by waratahs.
The contractor will install signage at Whitechapel Reserve. Please keep dogs on lead when passing through the area.
Signage will be removed when there is no risk to the public or dogs.
Any queries can be directed to the Whakatipu Reforestation Trust.
This pesticide is poisonous to humans and domestic animals. As a precaution, always remember:
Do not touch the bait
Watch children at all times
Do not eat animals from these areas or within 2km of it
Do not allow dogs access to animal carcasses or bait
Keep dogs on leash and under control at all times
Operation area with locations of the bait stations
A professional contractor carried out rabbit control at Tucker Beach Wildlife Management Reserve on Monday 5 August 2024.
About the operation
There was three pindone bait drops scheduled a week apart carried out by motorbike.
This operation was a coordinated effort by Tucker Beach Wildlife Trust and Council to reduce rabbit numbers and decrease the environmental effect on native vegetation and biodiversity in compliance with Otago Regional Council’s Pest Management Plan.
Pindone bait dyed green was present on the ground in this area while signage was in place.
Signage will be removed when there is no risk to the public or dogs.
Operation area
Tucker Beach Wildlife Management Reserve, unformed legal road within the Reserve and the closed historic Queenstown Landfill area (control area in orange).
The last application was completed on 8 September. Monitoring shows the operation was successful in reducing rabbit numbers.
About the operation
This rabbit control operation was aimed to reduce rabbit numbers within the identified reserves and to comply with Otago Regional Council’s Pest Management Plan.
Environmental effects from rabbits include:
Depletion of plant communities and species diversity
An increase in areas of bare land as well as soil disturbance
A reduction in soil organic matter, and deterioration of soil nutrients and structure
Adverse effect on indigenous and other fauna when high numbers of rabbit predators target alternative prey.
Carcass monitoring will determine when warning signs will be removed from the treatment area. The estimated date for warning sign removal is May 2024, however, warning signs will:
Be removed earlier if monitoring indicates that carcasses have broken down, or
Stay up for longer if monitoring suggests that pesticide residues could still be present
When we remove warning signs you will know that you can resume normal activities in the area. Until this time, risks can be eliminated by following these simple rules:
DO NOT touch bait
WATCH CHILDREN at all times
DO NOT EAT animals from this area
Remember, poison baits or carcasses are DEADLY to DOGS
The last bait application was completed on 27 August 2023. Monitoring shows the operation was successful in reducing rabbit numbers.
About the operation
This rabbit control operation was aimed to reduce rabbit numbers within the identified reserves and to comply with Otago Regional Council’s Pest Management Plan.
Environmental effects from rabbits include:
Depletion of plant communities and species diversity
An increase in areas of bare land as well as soil disturbance
A reduction in soil organic matter, and deterioration of soil nutrients and structure
Adverse effect on indigenous and other fauna when high numbers of rabbit predators target alternative prey.
Carcass monitoring will determine when warning signs will be removed from the treatment area. The estimated date for warning sign removal is May 2024, however, warning signs will:
Be removed earlier if monitoring indicates that carcasses have broken down, or
Stay up for longer if monitoring suggests that pesticide residues could still be present
When we remove warning signs you will know that you can resume normal activities in the area. Until this time, risks can be eliminated by following these simple rules:
DO NOT touch bait
WATCH CHILDREN at all times
DO NOT EAT animals from this area
Remember, poison baits or carcasses are DEADLY to DOGS
This operation consists of at least three separate toxin applications using pindone bait. Baits containing the pesticide Pindone will be distributed by an ATB (all-terrain vehicle).
Keep your dog on a leash in any reserves where rabbit control is underway and signage is in place.
DO NOT allow DOGS access to animal carcasses.
Dogs need to consume a number of pindone baits or rabbits to be affected, but if you suspect your dog has been poisoned you should contact your local vet.
To find alternative trails to walk your dog during rabbit control baiting operations in your area, check out the interactive map below:
There are high densities of rabbits throughout these reserves. Pesticide offers the most cost-effective way to reduce the rabbit population, and the aim of this operation is to reduce rabbit infestations to a very low level (Level 3 of the Modified McLean Scale).
