Antipodes Island Parakeet taking a stand against "big Brother". Image by MilanieBusinessman Gareth Morgan has pledged to help fund a major initiative to remove mice from the Antipodes Islands, 800km south-east of Bluff.
Dr Morgan has said he will match all public donations for the new project and is hoping to raise $1 million.
The Conservation Department will carry out the project on the islands which are home to the Antipodes Island snipe and parakeet.
The islands are also a critical breeding ground for the Antipodean albatross and a variety of petrel.
Mice, the only introduced pest on the islands, eat the birds' eggs and chicks.
The subantarctic islands were like life-rafts in the Southern Ocean, Dr Morgan said. "Seals, elephant seals and sea lions haul themselves up on them, penguins retreat to their shore line, while the great flying birds like albatross, shearwaters and petrels establish nests and breed here. It’s offensive really to think that New Zealanders, having exhausted short-lived commercial opportunities down here, then abandoned the islands but left their garbage, in the form of introduced pests, to smother the native fauna."
It was a fantastic opportunity to make a one-off investment to clear the islands of the last remaining pests, he said.
Details of the Million Dollar Mouse Project are available at www.milliondollarmouse.org.nz.
The partnership raising funds will include the Morgan Foundation, the Conservation Department, World Wildlife fund, Fiordland Conservation Trust, Heritage Expeditions and Kiwibank.
Donations can be made by visiting the project's website, texting 'MOUSE' to 4419 to donate $3, or by visiting any Kiwibank branch. Donations can also be made directly into the project's account 38 9012 0521410 00 though people are reminded to add their surname as a reference.