New Zealand goes after non-indigenous mammals. Some of them.

On the list

• rats;


• mice;


• cats; and


• stoats.

Oddly, not on the list are

• Maori; and


• British settlers.

Quote:

The idea of ridding all of New Zealand of its mammalian predators was proposed by Paul Callaghan, a world-renowned physicist, in a speech delivered in Wellington, in February, 2012. In scientific circles, Callaghan was celebrated for his work on nuclear magnetic resonance; to Kiwis he was probably best known for having recently been named New Zealander of the Year. At the time he gave the speech, Callaghan was dying of cancer, and everyone who heard it realized that it was one of the last he would deliver. (He died the following month.) “Let’s get rid of the lot,” Callaghan said. “Let’s get rid of all the predators—all the damned mustelids, all the rats, all the possums—from the mainland.”

New Zealand goes after non-indigenous mammals. Some of them.