TB management areas (TMAs)

We manage pest control operations through a framework of TB management areas, or TMAs. We have approximately 100 TMAs across various regions in New Zealand.

We deliver our pest control operations through this framework, which helps us plan and contract the work efficiently. We contract both our control operations and wildlife surveillance work out to local companies.

The TMA framework also helps us better identify who we need to communicate and consult with when we’re planning or completing work. Our contractors talk with those groups who are most likely to be affected by pest control operations, like:

• landowners
• local communities, and
• any groups interested in, or affected by, our operations.

Each TMA has a planned target date for TB eradication. We review each TMA’s progress annually and use the data we’ve gathered to inform future control work in the area.

TMA notices

We publish a notice for each TMA, describing any possum control or wildlife surveillance work planned for the coming operational year. The operational year runs from the beginning of July to the end of June. 

The notices provide: 

• details about the type of operations planned for each region — such as ground control or a pig survey, for example
• planned dates for pest control operations
• maps of the area the control work will happen in.

They also give a view of any future work needed to eradicate TB in the area — up to 3 years in advance.