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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.
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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. When I last visited a forest frequented by orange-fronted parakeet/kākāriki karaka, there was quiet optimism.
An aerial application of non-toxic baits has begun ahead of an aerial 1080 operation in the Kahurangi National Park.
Department of Conservation communications advisor Trish Grant said non-toxic baits had been distributed across 74,600 hectares of Kahurangi National Park in the Parapara and Gouland Downs operational blocks on Wednesday. New food safety advice for trout fishers
The Department of Conservation wants anglers to be aware of new food safety advice about eating trout caught in areas after aerial 1080 pest control operations. DOC Director National Operations Martin Kessick says DOC has responded to concerns raised by Fish and Game earlier this month and asked MPI to assess the risk to trout consumers if trout ate 1080 baits. The Department of Conservation has begun aerial 1080 drops in the Kahurangi National Park as part of its Battle for our Birds predator control programme.
The predator control is aimed at protecting populations of whio/blue duck, great spotted kiwi, kea, kaka, rock wren/tuke, Powelliphanta snails and long-tailed bats/pekapeka DoC scientist says result helped breeding birds but is disappointed some pests survived.
A major 1080 poison offensive succeeded in wiping out 95 per cent of rats and 85 per cent of stoats in targeted forests around the country, but the result was still below what a Department of Conservation scientist was hoping for. As part of a $21 million project dubbed The Battle for Our Birds, DoC staff launched 27 aerial pest control operations between last August and February over hundreds of thousands of hectares of beech forest, mainly in the South Island. Helen Murdoch, Nelson Mail
Community pest volunteers monitoring rock wren in the Henderson Basin of Kahurangi National Park say the alpine bird's future depends on the aerial use of 1080. Alec and Marian Milne, of Golden Bay's Friends of the Cobb, said they had been monitoring a Henderson Basin population of the endangered rock wren during week-long trips into Kahurangi National Park since 2000. The Westport News
Of the 22 kea monitored during aerial 1080 operations in Kahurangi National Park last year, two have been killed by the poison, says Department of Conservation (DOC) Westport conservation services manager Bob Dickson. The two kea were found dead in the Oparara Basin (western Kahurangi) following the 1080 aerial drop that occurred last November. |
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