Project Bang Bang Peter

This project responds to growing frustration from landowners, businesses, and lifestyle block holders in Maraekakaho and the wider area regarding persistent rabbit pressure across the landscape. It aims to provide a coordinated, practical response that upskills land managers, enables trials of new and existing rabbit control methods, and builds momentum through a shared, community-led approach. The emphasis is on making rabbit control more accessible, collaborative, and engaging across the catchment.

Feral rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are an introduced herbivore now well established in lowland grassland systems within the Karamū catchment. First introduced in the 1800s for food and sport, they have become a widespread pest in the absence of natural predators. Rabbit populations contribute to significant pressure on both productive and ecological systems, including grazing of native seedlings and regenerating vegetation, damage to orchards and young plantings, competition with livestock for pasture, and ongoing soil disturbance that increases erosion risk and reduces landscape resilience.