The government of New Zealand has declared war on countryside pests. It wants to make the country predator-free by 2050. It has set an ambitious target to eradicate all non-native species from the country over the next three decades. New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key says he intends to introduce strategies to cull introduced species, especially predators that threaten New Zealand's native birds. He said: "Rats, possums and stoats kill 25 million of our native birds every year, and prey on other native species such as lizards. Along with the rest of our environment, we must do more to protect them." His government has awarded $28 million to a company that will help implement his plans.
新西蘭政府向農業(yè)害蟲宣戰(zhàn)。稱將在2050年前實現(xiàn)農業(yè)無害蟲。還制定了未來三十年消滅外來物種的遠大理想。新西蘭總理基爾稱,他打算宰殺一部分外來物種,特別是一些可威脅本國飛禽的物種。他稱:“每年有2500萬只本國飛禽因老鼠、負鼠以及白鼬死亡,像蜥蜴等當?shù)匚锓N也未能幸免。為了我們的環(huán)境,我們必須要保護它們?;鶢栒严蚰彻举Y助2800萬美金,用于實施這一計劃。
Mr Key told reporters: "This is the most ambitious conservation project attempted anywhere in the world, but we believe if we all work together as a country, we can achieve it." It will take the combined efforts of the private and public sectors as well as community groups. Few people in New Zealand want more of the country's native birds to become extinct. Since European settlers arrived in the mid-nineteenth century and brought with them rats and other predators, New Zealand has lost a huge variety of birds. These include the bush wren, the laughing owl and the mysterious starling. The country's national bird, the kiwi, is currently under threat. Only five per cent of kiwi chicks survive to adulthood.
基爾對記者表示:“這是全球最偉大的保護項目,規(guī)模絕對史無前例,但如果我們同心協(xié)力,我們就能實現(xiàn)。”此計劃需要私營企業(yè),公共部門以及社區(qū)組織的共同努力。誰都不希望本國飛禽走向滅絕。19世紀中期,歐洲殖民者來到這里,他們帶來了老鼠等其它害蟲,新西蘭失去了大量飛禽。這包括bush wren,笑鸮以及太平洋輝椋鳥。國鳥幾維鳥正遭受威脅。僅5%的幾維鳥雛鳥能存活到成年。