1080 Press Releases
Scientist Dr Pollard calls for an end to the use of 1080 poison and a shift toward humane, science-based management of wild animal populations. She argues that targeted hunting, ecological monitoring and treating introduced animals as valuable resources can provide a more humane approach to conservation.
Tragedy: 550 black-backed gulls accidentally poisoned in Ōkārito, West Coast during predator elimination project. DOC acknowledges the incident and commits to improving future risk assessments.
According to OSPRI, the organisation responsible for controlling bovine Tb, 10 years of research have demonstrated “that 1080 can be used to control pests without harming native birds” (Media release, 1/8/23).
The National Party openly admits that its new policy to manage wild pigs and selected other animals as game, not pests, aims to win hunters’ votes.
Scientist Dr. Jo Pollard says DOC’s actions are negligent since previous DOC poisoning drops on the island, had devastating effects with several native bird species being slashed in numbers.
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.
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.
Kea have been in the news again, with TV1 viewers on Wednesday night (9/2/22) treated to the story that tradespeople are sought to help in kea habitat, replacing lead in rooves. This follows last October’s worrying Stuff News headline: “This Is How It Ends: As old as the Southern Alps, kea are on the edge of extinction” (Vance, 2021).
According to the Department of Conservation (DoC) it has solved the problem of previous years’ monitored kiwi chicks dying at Shy Lake, Fiordland, by aerially poisoning the surrounding 40,000 ha of rainforest and islands (the “Wet Jacket” poisoning operation).