Bluff Hill Motupohue Environment Trust volunteers Anne McDermont and Brian Shepard holding some of the traps that been removed from Bluff Hill

A community environment group believe they had been the victims of a targeted attack as more than 50 predator traps were removed from Bluff Hill.

Bluff Hill Motupohue Environment Trust chairwoman Estelle Leask said someone had removed all traps set along the main walkways on the hill along with some harder to reach trap lines.

The community trust, made up of volunteers, had found some on the traps but were damaged beyond repair.

Some traps cost more than a $100 alone and it could cost them thousands of dollars to replace depending on what they could find, she said.

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The trust had received $24,000 to set up traps a few years ago, Leask said.

While there had been similar vandalism before, this time there had been an intentional attempt to remove all the traps from their lodgings.

A lot of the traps are heavy and it would have taken some effort to remove the amount of traps that they did.

That made it feel like a targeted attack on the trust, she said.

"Someone had to be quite resentful to rip possum traps out of trees."

Leask believed it was likely someone who lived in the Bluff area who had done the damage as the reception to its walkways from tourists had been positive.

Security cameras had been since been donated to the trust to prevent further vandalism.

The trust was still dealing with the effects of last year mast causing a surge of pests and the removal of traps would leave a lot the native species on the hill vulnerable, Leask said.

Bluff Hill is home to vulnerable and endangered birds species such as blackbacked gull, little blue and yellow penguins, Stewart Island shag, Tītī muttonbird, red-crowned parakeet, south island rifleman [titipounamu], fernbird, kaka and kereru.