Planned Rakiura 1080 drop criticised
The planned 1080 poison drop over Stewart Island is an "ecological disaster that's waiting to happen", a tour operator says.
Last year, the Department of Conservation (Doc) announced plans to drop 1080 cereal bait to reduce the feral cat population endangering the southern New Zealand dotterel. The bird population has declined in the past four years, despite trapping and other efforts to reduce cat numbers.
Now there are about 105 birds left.
The bait will kill rats and possums which the cats will feed on. The first phase is a trial to gain understanding for Predator Free Rakiura, and will take place in 7000ha area inside the 43,000ha area where the second phase of the bait drop will happen.
About 108 tonnes of cereal bait containing 162kg of 1080 will be dropped.
The bait pellets contain cereal, cinnamon or orange lure, sugar, green dye and small amounts of 1080 (0.15% per pellet). It will be spread at a rate equivalent to about four to eight pellets in a tennis-court-sized area.
Ruggedy Range Wilderness Experience owner Furnah Ahmad has been a tour operator on Stewart Island for the past 25 years.
Ms Ahmad said 1080 was "harmful to everything that breathes air", and would adversely affect the island.
"It is harmful to our wildlife and environment, it's harmful to human beings and it will have an impact on the livelihood and wellbeing of people in our community."
New Zealand was known for its clean green image and attracted many visitors who did not want to walk "through a national park full of dead carcasses", unable to drink the groundwater and seeing animals sick or dying because of "horrendous poison", she said.
Paterson Inlet was part marine reserve, a food gathering source and contained salmon and mussel farms that could be poisoned with 1080 that flowed down the waterways to it, Ms Ahmad said.
The manufacturers of the poison recommended that all animals poisoned with 1080 should be buried, but this would not happen on the island.
Doc director national programmes Ben Reddiex said Stewart Island was the last breeding site for pukunui, and the bird could be lost without urgent intervention.
Aerial 1080 was the most effective tool to control predators including rats, possums, and feral cats over large areas and in rugged terrain, Mr Reddiex said.
Research showed biodegradable 1080 was safe and the Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of 1080.
In 2011, the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment conducted a review of the use of 1080 and recommended it should be used more.
Studies showed that 1080 has no detectable impact on invertebrate populations and did not affect native fish, including eels/tuna, or introduced trout, and freshwater crayfish/kōura.
The poison broke down more slowly in dry and cold environments, but conditions on Stewart Island were like Fiordland where aerial 1080 was successfully used, he said.
Doc staff would monitor the results of the bait drop to determine when no residue remained in carcasses and it was safe to resume activities in the area.
Rakiura National Park, including bookable hunting blocks, will remain open during the operation. Doc would ensure people were well-informed about how to keep safe.
In March a trial was held to test bait laced with deer repellent, and bait with deer repellent will be used within bookable hunting blocks only.
New Zealand Deerstalkers Association president Callum Sheridan said the group opposed the aerial dropping of 1080 as it indiscriminately killed not just game animals and impacted the environment.
Even though 1080 was said to break down fast, recently he had seen undissolved pellets in snow grass near Murchison that had been dropped more than three months ago.
The dosage in the pellets was not enough to kill a deer immediately.
"It takes days for them to die and they are basically exploding from the inside out — it's quite a horrible way to go."
He would not be keen to eat meat shot in an area where 1080 had been dropped, he said.
He estimated the Stewart Island bait drop would cost about $80 million.
The money might be better spent employing people to monitor bait stations and trap pests, he said.
sandy.eggleston@odt.co.nz
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