The Predator Free 2050 plan was created by the government of New Zealand. Its goal is to remove completely three types of animals that were brought to the country by people: possums, rats, and stoats. This plan aims to achieve this by the year 2050.
Goals and scope
The Department of Conservation has set four short-term goals for 2025, in addition to the long-term goal of removing all predator species from New Zealand by 2050. These goals include:
- Reducing predator populations on an additional 1 million hectares (3,900 square miles).
- Removing predators from at least 20,000 hectares without using fences.
- Eliminating predators from island nature reserves.
- Developing a major scientific solution that can remove at least one small mammal predator.
In mid-2016, Prime Minister John Key stated that current tools and methods would not be enough to achieve the 2050 goal. He said the government hoped for a major scientific discovery to help remove possums, stoats, and rats.
The Predator Free 2050 goal relies on strong community efforts. Over 2,000 groups across New Zealand are working to control predators. These efforts are supported by the Predator Free New Zealand Trust, a charity created in 2013 to help promote community conservation in the country.
PF2050 Ltd asked for ideas from groups that are able and willing to help reach the government’s goal of removing possums, rats, and stoats by 2050. PF2050 is looking for regional or local councils, communities, mana whenua, businesses, NGOs, or other groups that are already working on or planning predator removal projects. Selected projects will move to a request-for-proposal stage, with the aim of approving the first projects for PF2050 funding by mid-February 2018.
History
In 2017, the New Zealand government invested NZ$28 million into a company called Predator Free 2050 Ltd as part of its plan to remove invasive predators by 2050. The plan included a promise to add an extra NZ$1 for every NZ$2 invested by the public, third parties such as charities or local councils. Later, it was reported that the government would also provide an additional NZ$7 million each year after the initial four years of funding.
On July 25, 2017, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry described the project as "the most important conservation project in the history of our country." She also mentioned that Predator Free 2050 Ltd planned to announce its first major project before the end of 2017.
In November 2017, Predator Free 2050 Ltd shared its official research strategy. This strategy included four programs happening at the same time:
– "Environment and society" would study how New Zealanders and cultural groups view predator eradication.
– "Eradicating the last 1%" would improve current methods for controlling predators.
– "New genetic control tools" would explain the benefits and risks of new genetic technologies to the public before deciding to use them.
– "Computer modelling" would create shared tools to help communities and agencies design plans that fit their goals and environments.
In May 2025, the Department of Conservation shared a discussion document to update the Predator Free 2050 strategy. The document proposed new goals to be achieved by 2030 and suggested adding feral cats to the list of predator species targeted for removal. It also proposed creating a plan to attract funding from businesses, charities, NGOs, and iwi for conservation projects that help protect nature, improve flood resilience, and support climate goals. The document also included plans to review rules about using public conservation land and water to ensure fair contributions to conservation efforts.
In May 2025, the government announced that Predator Free 2050 Ltd would be closed, and the Department of Conservation would take over management of the project.
In November 2025, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka confirmed that feral cats would be added to the list of predator species targeted by Predator Free 2050. Feral cats had not been included earlier because of opposition from cat owners.