Results released over the weekend of independent testing of some of the carcasses found in Westport have done little to solve the mystery of what killed over 600 rats
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The NZ Deerstalkers Association (NZDA) has made incorrect and misleading claims on aerial possum control operations, claims OSPRI.
An aerial 1080 operation in Egmont National Park took a big toll on rat and possum numbers, results from monitoring stations showed.
But the June operation, carried out by the Department of Conservation, also caused the death of one of the 20 rare whio which are monitored in the national park. A private conservation block in the Coromandel is teeming with life thanks to four generations of one family.
Almost 100 years of care has secured a 4000-hectare pocket of flourishing native bush home to a healthy population of 150 endangered brown kiwi and flocks of kererū up to 100 strong. Orange-fronted parakeets will still get protection but some mohua populations miss out as DoC reduces the area of forest being covered by 1080 poison. David Williams reports.
Predator-killing aerial 1080 poison drops planned across the country will be shrunk by 100,000 hectares, and cost millions of dollars more, because of the severity of this year’s mega mast. The Department of Conservation is concerned after a higher percentage of rats than expected have survived the first 1080 drops intended to battle this years "mega mast".
This year's build-up of the rat population in New Zealand forests can be attributed to unusually high seed production, called a mast, experts have said. Official maps released today have revealed the vast swathe of New Zealand wilderness under threat from a plague-fuelling "mega mast" - but officials say response plans can't be scaled up.
Forest & Bird is warning a nationwide rat plague is only about to get worse, and has pleaded with the Government and councils to increase their 1080 rat control programmes, before a stoat plague comes next. Possum numbers in the West Coast's Perth River Valley area have potentially reduced from roughly 10,000 to just 30 after a new technique was used in a 1080 operation.
Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) is in charge of the operation in the Perth River Valley area in South Westland. The operation is halfway through and has involved the deployment of 4 kilograms of 1080 per hectare so far. An aerial drop of 1080 is set for a large area of the Kahurangi National Park to control a booming rat population.
This year's beech mast, or heavy seed production, is expected to lead to a heavy breeding season for rats taking advantage of the abundant food source. In an unexpected result, scientists encountered more deer in South Westland forest blocks after 1080 drops than before the drops.
They also encountered and saw the same numbers of deer in 1080 drop zones as they did in zones where 1080 was not dropped. |
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