News that the New Zealand government intends to develop a programme to eliminate all alien predators seems a tad optimistic ( https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/25/no-more-rats-new-zealand-to-exterminate-all-introduced-predators). The focus is on rats along with stoats and possums as these appear to be responsible for losses of ground-nesting indigenous birds including the kiwi. Such anthropogenic (caused by we humans) effects of accidentally/deliberately introduced alien species are a major challenge to fragile ecologies in many parts of the globe but many experiences suggest that eradications (even on tiny islands without substantial human constructions) are not at all easy, cheap or fast. New Zealand is diverse, reasonably substantial and would, I feel, be a difficult nut to crack. It's a good aspiration but I'm not sure whether it's achievable. Rats, for a start, are pretty adaptable (they can climb and operate in burrow systems as exhibit bait shyness). One might also ask whether companion predators such as domestic cats and dogs- they can become feral and would be just as much a problem- have been considered?
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