You have given consent for the business “Vector Control Services” to aerially poison Arthurs Pass National Park, including places that have not been poisoned before, primarily to control rats in order to protect kakariki.
Will NZ’s Department of Conservation win against rodents and stoats with 1080 poison? Scientist Dr Jo Pollard puts the counter view.
The New Zealand government’s Department of Conservation (DoC) is responsible for managing our land and natural resources for the purposes for conservation.
An average of 12% of marked kea have been reported dead within the first few days of aerial poisonings (DoC, 2016; Kemp et al., 2016, unpublished); range up to 78% (Graf, 2011). (Figures do not include later deaths from carcass scavenging or slow deaths from poisoning.)
You have given consent for the business “Vector Control Services” to aerially poison Arthurs Pass National Park, including places that have not been poisoned before, primarily to control rats in order to protect kakariki.
Back in the 1990s, in at least one institution, rigorous government science was alive and well. At Invermay Agricultural Research Centre, “Lab” meetings were being held where the scientist (or trembling student) presented his or her proposed experiment: the background, hypotheses to be tested and methods.
Abstract A recent review highlighting several reasons for concern regarding the New Zealand Government’s policy of widespread aerial poisoning with sodium monofluoroacetate (1080), was sent to several Government ministers and staff (in August 2016). A letter in reply, in support of the ongoing use of 1080, was received from the Department of Conservation (DoC). The […]
Abstract Reasons to be concerned about the widespread use of aerially distributed food baits containing 1080 poison (sodium monofluoroacetate) for pest control in New Zealand are evident in scientific publications and government reviews and reports. Many hazardous properties and a lack of scientific knowledge of the effects of 1080 were described in a comprehensive report […]
To monitor effects of 1080 poisoning, Kea are harrassed during nesting and year round. Many wear backpacks with transmitters. Quotes on Harrassment: “The interests of the bird come first. Birds respond to people in many ways, depending on the species, location and time of year. Disturbance can keep birds from their nests, leaving chicks hungry […]
The Department of Conservation (DoC) explains: “High levels of seed production (‘mast’) in our beech forests is expected to trigger a rodent and stoat explosion later this year. When seed supplies run out these predators will turn on endangered birds… “A widespread rodent and stoat plague in South Island beech forests would put some of […]
Introduction In June 2011 New Zealand’s Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE), Dr Jan Wright, announced that there should be more 1080 poison spread by air across NZ’s wilderness areas. Furthermore that the use of aerial 1080 and other poisons to control pests should be subject to fewer regulations (PCE, 2011). Dr Wright had reviewed […]