Wenita Predator Free Dunedin

About

In 2021, Wenita Forest Products, which is owned by ANZFF2 and several New Forests managed co-investors, announced a NZD 1 million dollar partnership with Predator Free Dunedin to protect native biodiversity and enhance communities in Dunedin, New Zealand. Wenita is the largest producer of timber in Otago New Zealand. It has a three-decade track record of supplying forest products to local and international markets from its 30,000 hectares of sustainably-managed forest.

Introduced mammalian predators such as rats, possums and stoats are a major problem for New Zealand’s native biodiversity. These species have pushed New Zealand’s native wildlife to the brink of extinction — killing millions of native birds, lizards and insects every year.

Key Initiative

In a partnership over four years, Wenita has committed NZD 1 million of funding to establish a network of mustelid traps through its own forestry estate in Otago, New Zealand and on nearby public land. Trapping in these areas will protect threatened wildlife and ecosystems including the fernbird/mātātā and unique flightless alpine insects — some of which are found nowhere else in the world. More traps will see treasured birds like kākā, robin and the New Zealand falcon flourish.

Impact

The project will substantially reduce predator impacts on indigenous wildlife and ecosystems increasing native species diversity and numbers. It will generate regional employment as part of the trapping activities and is an important part of expanding Predator Free Dunedin’s activities regionally.