A newly formed group, 1080 Awareness Bay of Plenty, are calling all hunters, farmers and concerned citizens to join them in a 1080 awareness rally at the Mount on Saturday 9th November. The organisers say that the deaths of livestock in Waikato last year should have everyone alarmed over Department of Conservation contractors casual attitude to the aerial spreading of 1080 over farm and conservation land.

The group wants to educate the public on fluoroacete, which is one of the most toxic poisons chemists have created. Tracy Livingston, who ran in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board elections this year to highlight health concerns says “One teaspoon is more than enough to kill 20 adults. This year alone, our government is aerially spreading enough poison over nearly one million hectares of conservation land to kill millions of people. We’re the only country in the world that has changed its laws to allow lethal poisons to be spread directly into waterways.”

She says “I’m distressed as anyone about predation on our native species, our group is certainly not “anti-conservation”. The issues are more complex than that. There is no argument that pest species die in poison operations, but DoC research shows that not only does aerial 1080 kill our natives, the pests, particularly rats and stoats, recover very quickly. They reinvade the poison zone within months, reaching five to six times higher numbers than previously, necessitating even more poison. It becomes a vicious cycle. Moreover, stoats prefer mice and rats to birds, but will eat birds if rodents are scarce. It’s called “prey switching” and is a real double whammy against birdlife.

I know DOC insists that bird populations “bounce back”, but there are numerous accounts of complete loss of local flocks following an aerial poison operation so there have been no birds to repopulate. The areas that birds are actually doing well, not just translocated from another area, is where there is ground based pest control that targets specific species. Several birds types are much more susceptible to poison operations than others, and yet it appears that these are the species that are not studied. ”

Tracy goes on to say “1080 poisons invertebrates and micro-organisms in the earth, eventually impacting badly on the whole ecosystem. It was first developed as an insecticide so it makes sense that it will kill insects. There has been very little research into the long term effects on native insects and micro-organisms. It does appear that bees are adversely affected in some poison operations, but not others. It would be good to know why that is but there has been no research on this and according to Landcare Research, honey has only had 12 samples tested in the past 10 years.”

“Another scientific inaccuracy in the news that 1080 Awareness group wants to ‘myth bust’ is that the poison is ‘biodegradable’. Instead, the fluoroacetate undergoes something called ‘lethal synthesis’ – it is converted in a living cell to fluorocitrate, which then blocks energy production of the cell effectively causing cell death. Once in the cell, it can’t be broken down further, so it goes on to kill the next cell and so on. That’s how sub-lethal doses can slowly but surely cause extreme fatigue and cardiac arrest and organ damage.”

“One thing that is seldom discussed, is that 1080 can break down to methylfluoride, a potent greenhouse gas, the production of which is banned in other countries. Researchers in Switzerland have noted that HF is increasing in the atmosphere again after years of reduction after a global ban on CFC’s. Some of us here in New Zealand are concerned that the tons of 1080 released here may be contributing to the problem.”

Tracy goes on to say “The latest Landcare Research Official Information Request shows hundreds of food samples have tested positive to 1080 over the past few years, so it is definitely in our food chain, and possibly our exports as well. It’s hard to interpret the data as Landcare Reseach refused to disclose the locations or concentrations of the poisoned substances. So much for ‘transparency’ in government!”

Join us to find out more about 1080, alternatives and conservation at Coronation Park, Mount Maunganui 9th November. There will be speakers from around the country to share their years of observation of how 1080 affects our ngahere, as well as scientists who understand the chemistry of this controversial poison. The speeches will start at 10am with a short hikoi on the beach to follow. Contact us on our Facebook page - 1080 Awareness Bay of Plenty

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