Report
Our journal, TNPA News #6 (2006) included an article on the major problem of rabbits and rodents on sub-antarctic Macquarie Island, World Heritage-listed and legally part of Tasmania. This article caught the attention of local media and attracted strong interest, not just locally but interstate and internationally.
“On 26 March 2007 the Lennon (State) Government announced that they would not co-fund the Plan to Eradicate Rabbits and Rodents from Subantarctic Macquarie Island” (TNPA News #8 2007).
“In February TNPA representatives attended a meeting with Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre and Giovanni Boccardi, head of the Asia-Pacific Unit of the World Heritage Centre to raise the issue.” (Ibid)
The eradication program which did eventuate, largely as a result of lobbying by the TNPA, was a huge success. An article by Jenny Scott, a major player in the eradication program, in TNPA News #18 (2014) is titled “Macquarie Island without Rabbits, Rats or Mice” and includes ‘before and after’ images from the island.
The video link below tells the story of this successful campaign
See also:
Sub-antarctic Macquarie Island, Tasmania. Photo: Grant Dixon
The Tasmanian National Parks Association offers an independent voice for Tasmania’s national parks and reserves, to ensure they are managed for the conservation of the values for which they were proclaimed.