SUSTAINABILITY
We take sustainability very seriously
and its something we are constantly
working on, we want our carbon
footprint to be as small as possible,
so we are making as many changes
as we can to reduce our impact on
the environment. This has included
purchasing a larger hybrid delivery truck. This not only allows us to run on electric
and bio diesel but the larger size truck now cuts down the amount of trips we have to
make. Our other vehicles are also running on bio diesel which is made from used
cooking oil collected from restaurants around New Zealand.
All our cardboard waste is recycled and where we can we only use carbon neutral
products. Our packaging tape is made from plant derived eucalyptus pulp which is
from renewable and sustainably managed forests. It is degradable unlike other
packaging tapes. Our office paper waste is recycled by turning it into shredding
and is then used by Orana Wildlife Park for animal bedding and enrichment.
We are proud members of the Sustainable Business Network and we always try to
choose businesses to work with who share our same values on environmental impact.
Pests in New Zealand
Possums
Possums are voracious eaters, in New Zealand they consume an
estimated 21,000 tonnes of vegetation a night. Most noticeably,
they destroy spectacular flowering trees such as the pohutukawa
and rata. They also change the overall structure and composition
of our native forests. Their favoured food species are tall canopy
species such as tawa, northern and southern rata, kohekohe,
kamahi and Halls totara.
Possums can cause catastrophic dieback, the complete collapse
of a forest canopy, especially tree species that possums prefer.
In the southern rata-kamahi forests of Westland, many valleys
lost more than 50% of canopy trees within 15-20 years of
possums arriving. The forest trees are then replaced by shrubs
that are unpalatable to possums, and the area changes from tall
forest to to low open forest and shrublands.
New Zealands eight surviving species of native mistletoe are
threatned by possums. Possum control can lead to dramatic
increases in mistletoe growth and flowering.
People used to think that possums only ate plants. But in 1993
possums were filmed eating the eggs and chicks of endangered
kōkako. They have since been filmed eating the eggs, chicks and
even adults of many other native birds including kererū, kiwi,
harrier hawk, fantail, muttonbird, and tui. They also eat the
nectar and berries that native birds like to eat so that there is less
food for the birds.
Wallabys
The Bennett’s wallaby is primarily a grazer, feeding on a wide
variety of indigenous and exotic grasses and herbs, but it also
browses palatable shrub and tree species. They can deplete the
understorey of remnant patches of indigenous forest, sometimes
preventing regeneration of the most palatable species.
Deer
The impact of uncontrolled wild deer populations on New
Zealand’s native forest and alpine grassland is well documented.
Deer selectively remove palatable species, leaving the forest floor
and alpine tussock and herb fields bare. When deer populations
get too large, favourite plants like schefflera, broadleaf, three-
finger, hen and chicken fern and lancewood are but removed
from the ground tier in forest understoreys. Plants like alpine
buttercup, spaniard grass and tall tussocks are damaged by deer
in subalpine habitats.
Rabbits & Hares
Rabbits are regarded primarily as an agricultural pest. They
compete very effectively for pasture. On average, 7-10 rabbits
consume as much as one ewe. Rabbits also provide a stable food
source for mammalian carriers of bovine tuberculosis. Burrowing
and scrapes cause extensive damage on erosion-prone soils, so
much so that agricultural land can be rendered useless.
Historically, rabbit-infested farms were abandoned because
owners could not make a living.
Hares can prevent regeneration of native plants in favoured hare
habitats in the sub alpine and alpine zones, and can damage
sensitive native vegetation around alpine ponds and wetlands.
Hares may also eat plant species in restoration areas, especially
during the first four to five months following planting.
Goats
Wild goats are browsers rather than grazers. They cause
considerable damage to under-storey vegetation up to two
metres above the ground, damaging young trees in exotic forests
and along replanted soil-conservation areas. The effect of goats
destroying undergrowth coupled with the effects of possums
browsing the canopy, results in significant and often permanent
damage to native vegetation.
Goats are agile animals, able to exploit steep hill slope unsuitable
for other animals. The loss of vegetation in this areas may lead
to increased erosion.
Not only are wild game an exceptional food source as they are fully organic
and their varied diet causes them to have an exceptionally good nutritional
profile, we believe by helping to control wild game populations, we are actively
helping to save our native forests and as a result positively impacting the carbon
foot print of this country.
With no natural predators and often no competition for food, these animals are
consuming enormous quantities of native bush daily.
© Canterbury Pet Foods Ltd 2019