Molesworth Station

New Zealand’s biggest farm, the 180,787 hectare Molesworth Station, is part of a vast, mountainous landscape in the northern South Island high country. It is one of the last large farmed areas where possums and other vectors of bovine TB are still being brought under intensive control.

Molesworth is the focus of a nine-year programme of targeted possum control and wildlife surveillance, beginning winter 2017.

The first aerial 1080 operation over 62,000 hectares was completed in October, and warning signs will remain in place at the main access points until residues of the toxin are below detectable levels. Current status and guidance on hunting at Molesworth can be found on the DOC website.

This large high-altitude property was originally excluded from the official pest control programme under previous National Pest Management Strategies that were initially focussed on the reduction of infected herds.

Between 2011 and 2016 the TB programme focussed on keeping infected herd numbers as low as possible while proving TB freedom was possible in large scale possum habitat. During this period, Molesworth Station entered into a 50/50 partnership arrangement with the TBfree New Zealand to undertake local wild animal control on the station. The targeted control work has achieved significant reductions in the number of TB infected animals within the herd.

With the implementation of the plan to eradicate TB from NZ by 2055, the need to implement a substantial TB management programme for the Marlborough/Canterbury high country is essential to achieve the eradication goal.

OSPRI has worked in partnership with Landcare Research to determine the relative effectiveness of aerial 1080 baiting strategies to reduce both possum abundance and TB levels in wildlife in high country landscape on Molesworth Station.

As OSPRI manages disease eradication through its TB Management Areas in other parts of New Zealand, a customised two-pronged approach will be used at Molesworth.

Pest Control Programme

Molesworth Station will be split into large blocks for the purpose of implementing a rolling pest management programme to achieve full coverage over three years. The rolling cycle works in with the station farming practices, makes efficient use of a constrained budget, and ensures that reactional users have as much access and time as possible to visit the station. Ground-based possum control and aerial distribution of possum baits will be used, with proposed activities communicated and consulted upon as they are designed.

Disease Management Programme

TB tests are designed to measure an animal's immune response. The primary test is a skin test, with follow-up blood tests used in most cases. TB testing for the Molesworth cattle herd will include blood testing the replacement stock. This will be extended to other stock as the pest management programme is implemented.

A farm the size of Molesworth – a landlocked, mountainous area roughly the same size as Stewart Island – presents challenges for people farming and visiting the station. Among them:

The country’s highest altitude public-access road makes clear access weather dependent
As a working farm, stock management and timing are necessary considerations
It’s a popular area for deer, pig and gamebird hunters
The rivers and mountains are popular for tramping, mountain biking, fishing and river rafting.

Hunting is restricted in Molesworth as it is both a recreation reserve and a working farm, and there is a need to balance the requirements of both.

Red deer, chamois, goats and pigs are found on the station, and hunting is restricted at times such as during the annual goose hunt. OSPRI consults annually on its pest control operations.

TB Management Area factsheets available here. Factsheets on various aspects of TBfree programme activities include:

RESEARCH PAPERS

Byrom A, Nugent G, Yockney I, Poutu N, Whitford J, McKenzie J, Shepherd J, Porphyre T 2007. (R-80629) Cost-effective control of Tb in the Northern South Island High Country (NSIHC): Identifying the habitats and vector species requiring control. LC0708/033. 85p. Read it here.

Porphyre, T., McKenzie, J., Byrom, A. E., Nugent, G., Shepherd, J., & Yockney, I. (2014). Spatial prediction of brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) distribution using a combination of remotely sensed and field-observed environmental data. Wildlife Research, 40(7), 578-587. Read it here.

Nugent, G.; Whitford, J. Yockney, I.J.; Cross, M.L. 2012. Reduced spillover transmission of Mycobacterium bovis to feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in New Zealand following population control of brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Epidemiology and Infection 140: 1036–1047. Read it here.

Nugent, G.; Whitford, J. 2008. Animal Health Board Project No. R-10652 Relative Utility of Tb Hosts as Sentinels for Detecting Tb. Landcare Research Contract Report: LC0708/032. 38 Read it here.

molesworth station