For decades now, DoC (NZ’s Department of Conservation) has been finding that nature is very fast to fill a void. DoC uses widely broadcast, broad-spectrum poisons in its battles with unwanted mammals (mice, rats, possums and stoats).
The Department of Conservation’s (DoC’s) blatant disregard for science was vivid in October. Articles claiming that “1080 benefits outweigh kea deaths” were published in newspapers and online. This claim was based on comments from DoC’s Tom Belton, who had presented work on kea to the West Coast Conservation Board.
Under New Zealand’s Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act (1996), the major aerial spreaders of sodium monofluoroacetate (“1080” poison) (the Animal Health Board and the Department of Conservation) were required to apply to the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA), for permission to continue.
Supporters of NZ’s conservation by aerial poisoning have commonly defended their position with the statement “Look at the science.”Most of the published science on conservation in NZ is accessed readily, appearing in the NZ Journal of Ecology (NZJE). A browse through the issues from the last couple of years reveals glimmers of hope for ecological management, plus some not so nice things. The following is a quick run through.
A review of the Department of Conservation’s (DoC’s) consultation with Māori on the aerial use of 1080 poison. Most Māori participants felt uncomfortable with the use of poisons in the environment, protecting the forest biodiversity, while the poison was contradictory to fundamental Māori beliefs.