Island life

New Zealand ecologist Biz Bell is the scourge of rodents in remote places. She talks techniques with Ed Cook

- Ed Cook

When you think of rat control it is hard not to envisage a man rocking up in a van, filling a bait box, and then disappearing until next month. While this may be all that is needed in some cases, it isn’t in every instance.

Some years ago I read about a team who eradicated the last rat from an island in Scotland. At the time, I hadn’t visited Scotland (how times change), but when the Isle of Canna rabbit project was awarded to us, I realised that this was the rat-free island I had heard about previously. The work had been carried out by a company from New Zealand called Wildlife Management International (WMIL). It specializes in island restoration – the eradication of invasive species, restoration of native species and habitats, and other conservation and ecological research projects. I recently got the chance to speak to the managing director, Elizabeth Bell, better known as Biz, who has travelled the world with her job.

Over the years I’ve heard a lot about your work, in the UK and elsewhere. Obviously, your workload and skills are varied, but how did you manage to kill every rat on an island – and why?