Toxins are often used in New Zealand against pests, though less so every year. They're also persistent. An animal that has eaten bait, or wandered across from a block that was baited, can carry residue for a long time afterwards. That's not something anyone wants in a food chain.
So we follow caution period set by MPI: how long after a toxin is laid that animals from the area can't be harvested for food. Different toxins, different periods.
What the app does
- Your land. When you tell us a toxin was used, we apply the matching caution period and buffer the affected area out of the huntable map until it's safe.
- The neighbours' land. If your neighbour also signed up, we can remove the animals right to the boundary - good for you both. We also check public records (daily) of pest-control operations on nearby Crown and DOC land. If there's an active operation within range, we buffer for it. If there isn't, we don't make you wait for nothing.
- When in doubt, wider. Buffers are sized conservatively. We'd rather a hunter walked an extra paddock than took an animal from the wrong side of a line.
When a caution period in place ends, the land comes back onto the map. No phone calls, no guessing at dates.
Why it matters beyond the rules
Knowing exactly where toxins are, and aren't, opens up land that would otherwise sit in limbo. Clean blocks can be harvested with confidence. Blocks next to a big operation can plan around it, rather than writing off the year.
Next up: a day in the field for the hunter.