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The conservation sacrifice : how far New Zealand will go to save its birds

Author(s)
Flaherty Payne, Brittany(Brittany Jean)
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Download1138990685-MIT.pdf (1.800Mb)
Alternative title
How far New Zealand will go to save its birds
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Comparative Media Studies.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing.
Advisor
Marcia Bartusiak.
Terms of use
MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
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Abstract
In July of 2016, the New Zealand government announced plans for Predator Free 2050, the biggest predator control effort ever undertaken in the country-and perhaps the world. Predator Free 2050 is a government-sanctioned goal to eliminate rats, stoats, and possums from New Zealand. Since New Zealand has no native land mammals, its bird species are poorly adapted to withstand predation from the mammals that have been introduced since humans first arrived on the nation's shores. The country is now home to nearly 170 native bird species, most of which are declining and considered at risk or threatened after years of predation by invasive mammals. 93 of these species are endemic, found nowhere else on the planet. Predator Free 2050 builds on years of conservation efforts to reduce predator numbers and provide safe spaces for bird populations to recover, including the successful elimination of mammalian pests on islands and fenced-in sanctuaries around the country. Birds are a critical component of the nation's cultural identity and the government hopes that Predator Free 2050 will protect New Zealand's rare birds. However, it's not yet clear whether this goal is feasible and some of the methods used to wipe out pests have been controversial. The difficult decisions being made in New Zealand right now reflect the challenges and conflicts that arise around the world when wildlife protection requires significant changes and sacrifices.
Description
Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 2019
 
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (pages 20-22).
 
Date issued
2019
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/123782
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Comparative Media Studies., Graduate Program in Science Writing.

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