The expertise behind Owls Eat Rats is extra RI (raptor intelligence) than AI-based, however it solves a giant agricultural downside and gained the $50,000 grant prize on the Hatch: Taronga Accelerator Program pitch final week.
Six startups had been concerned within the annual program, which culminated within the pitch night time at Taronga Zoo Sydney.
Owls Eat Rats relies within the Northern Rivers area of NSW and helps barn owl populations as a pure, long-term answer for rodent management in agriculture.
Founder Alastair Duncan instals nesting bins, looking roosts, and ecological monitoring, to revive habitat and promote the return of owls as native predators on farms, collaboratively with farmers to encourage extra sustainable farming practices and lower chemical inputs
We’re thrilled to be awarded the $50,000 prize from Taronga’s unimaginable Hatch program,” Duncan mentioned.
“It’s been a privilege and incredible alternative to have interaction with likeminded changemakers, subject material specialists and the broader Taronga community. We’re excited to proceed our mission of supporting more healthy landscapes and decreasing reliance on dangerous chemical compounds by working with extra farmers to create owl-friendly habitats by way of this funding.”
Hatch, now in its fifth 12 months, is the world’s solely accelerator program led by a conservation zoo. It’s designed to assist eco-preneurs take their concept from imaginative and prescient to actuality , supporting innovator tackling a few of the planet’s most urgent environmental and conservation challenges.
Taronga Conservation Society CEO, Cameron Kerr mentioned the judges had been significantly impressed by Owls Eat Rats founder, Alastair Duncan.
“His deep understanding of ecological techniques, dedication to biodiversity, and the potential to scale this revolutionary method throughout agricultural landscapes made a robust impression,” he mentioned.
“Supporting native owl populations as a type of pure rodent management is an easy but highly effective concept—one which promotes more healthy farms, reduces reliance on dangerous chemical compounds, and helps re-balance ecosystems.”
REUSABLY founders Matt Bowie and Mary Kelly with Cameron Kerr (centre).
Kerr mentioned they had been “extremely impressed” by the calibre of the 2025 Hatch cohort and the 9 founders concerned within the six startups.
Every of the startup founders supplied considerate and sensible options to a few of the most pressing environmental challenges—from rescuing surplus meals and decreasing packaging waste, to restoring degraded land and reforming the floristry trade for a extra sustainable future,” he mentioned.
Others had been recognised with $5000 prizes. Individuals’s Alternative Award, determined by public vote, which was offered to Reusably; and the LG Life’s Good Award, which went to ALBON.
Hatch has now granted $488,000 in funding and has linked 29 groups with greater than 100 mentors and subject material specialists. Earlier startups concerned embrace edible espresso cups Good-Edi and Xylo Programs, which simplifies biodiversity measurement.
The six startups concerned within the 2025 Hatch program had been:
Taronga CEO Cameron Kerr and Hatch Accelerator Program founders
