Another view on 1080
Barry Silvester is once again being mischievous. The deaths of the 7 tracked kea is a concern for all. A repellent was used that had been tested with 2 captive kea whom firmly rejected the baits. That the wild kea then went on to eat the poison baits is obviously a problem that will be researched and further decisions around the use of 1080 will be made. The drop was combined between AHB and DoC and involved 30000 hectares of very dense forest at Okarito. The purpose of the operation was to help native rowi (kiwi) fledge their chicks without the chicks continually becoming prey to possums, stoats and rats. Operation Nest Egg is currently underway in the area to try to save the species.
The deaths to kea all occurred at the northern end of the drop in an area of previously harvested forest. There were 38 tracked kea. Tracking of kea has revealed that 60% of kea nests are visited by predators. Video monitoring has captured possums and stoats attacking nests. Add natural attrition and it is obvious that kea are in trouble.
Mr Silvester forgot to mention the people with guns who also attack kea. Recently five shot kea were dumped near Arthurs Pass and at the same time another was thrown on the driveway of a DoC worker. Those people are obviously deranged. However the hunters that Silvester claims are being deprived are not. Project Kaka closed for hunting a 22000 hectare central block of the Tararuas for 6 months. DoC uses 1080 on only 2% of it's estate. There is plenty of land that hunters can hunt in any district when 1080 is used. Whilst many hunters still oppose 1080 purely for their own recreational needs there are also many who notice and comment on the changed for the better nature of the bush with 1080 pest control.
Mr Silvester's emotional claims about other countries and comparing the way we use 1080 are rubbish. Other countries want to preserve their mammals so our methods are totally unsuitable for them and as our ecosystem is unique in the world we have been able to develop baiting methods that work for us.
His anecdote of a "groggy kaka" at Ruamahanga Bridge is speculation. Apart from the fact that the supposedly poisoned bird (from the Project Kaka drop) had to have flown 15km from the drop zone boundary, the bird could have been drunk on fermented fruit or could have been chewing lead head nails or flashings. Mr Silvester's diagnosis of 1080 poisoning without examination of the bird is astounding. Research using 73 kaka fitted with radio trackers during 4 separate poisoning operations has seen all the kaka survive. That does not mean that they can't be poisoned but it shows that the risk is very low. The fact is that the kaka at Pukaha Mt Bruce are only able to successfully breed there because of the use of traps and toxins.
Mr Silvester's claims about ERMA and the PCE and of DoC only using 1080 to keep their jobs are just nonsense. As primary users of the toxin 1080 they are the ones who have commissioned the bulk of the studies. The Graf Brothers film Poisoning Paradise is not an objective educational tool. The NZ Skeptics in 2009 gave it their annual bent spoon award for gullibility and a lack of critical thinking. For an overview of 1080 in NZ the PCE report - Evaluating the use of 1080: Predators, poisons and silent forests, and the web site www.1080facts.co.nz are useful for the casual observer. For more detailed analysis try the peer reviewed NZ Journal of Ecology Vol 35, No1. - An updated review of the toxicology and ecotoxicology of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) in relation to its use as a pest control tool in New Zealand.
I don't think that we will see "the emergence of lifeless forests and National Parks" as Silvester claims but without the help of toxins to reduce pest numbers we will certainly see denuded ones with native flora and fauna still in decline.
BarryBaxter, Masterton
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