Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) operations director Dan Harrison told Tuesday's meeting that the council had begun a 10-year rural mustelid trapping programme in 2018 as part of the Towards Predator-Free Taranaki project. Towards Predator-Free Taranaki is working to eradicate possums over 4500ha from the Kaitake Ranges to the coastline, and has an urban project trapping rats. The programme has so far covered 75,000ha with more than 6000 traps, and included a trap barrier around the national park Te Papakura o Taranaki resulting in a 90 per cent reduction in mustelid populations, he said. Harrison said the new rule will identify predator control areas where landowners agree to set traps and maintain mustelid numbers at a reduced level.