The Environmental Protection Authority’s latest annual report on aerial 1080 operations shows a smaller area was treated in 2021.

A total of 468,688 hectares across Aotearoa New Zealand received treatment with aerial 1080 in 2021 - down 16 percent from 558,000 hectares in 2020.

However, the number of aerial 1080 operations increased to 45, compared with 31 in 2020.

Consistent with previous years, the West Coast had the largest total land area treated aerially with 1080 in 2021, at 153,720 hectares.

Northland, Auckland, Gisborne, Tasman, and Nelson had no aerial 1080 operations in 2021.

"Aerial 1080, which is used to mainly target possums and rats, benefits many native species, including kiwi, kōkako, kea, kākā, robins, bats, and mistletoe," says the EPA’s Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement General Manager, Gayle Holmes.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) and TBfree New Zealand continue to commission most aerial 1080 operations. The EPA reports on the operations every year.

In 2007 an EPA decision-making committee continued the approved use of 1080. It found that the benefits of 1080 were essential for conservation success and controlling possums to reduce tuberculosis in cattle and deer.

Incidents

The EPA received notification of 18 incidents across 14 operations in 2021:

- Seven overflies (where a helicopter flew over an area it shouldn’t have) and helicopter malfunctions, including bucket malfunction.

- Six misapplications of bait.

- Two incidents of public nuisance. These involved an alleged incident of a member of the public moving bait from outside the exclusion zone and one incident of two staff being stopped while installing signs.

- Two notifications of non-target-species deaths potentially linked to aerial 1080 operations.

- One complaint due to alleged contamination of a grazing area due to 1080 dust.

The EPA followed up on all incidents.

An operation in south Ōkārito resulted in the death of more than 550 karoro (black-backed gulls) and one dog in November 2021. This incident will be reported on in next year’s aerial 1080 report because the operation had several stages and finished in 2022.

The EPA’s investigation in 2022 found that the Ōkārito incident followed the permissions set by DOC, which has since updated its processes to reduce the risk to karoro in future phases of the operation.

Research

"At present 1080 is the main tool for managing introduced pests at a landscape scale," says Ms Holmes. "However, the EPA reports on and encourages research into alternative ways to control these pests."

During 2021, 45 research projects based on aerial 1080 pest control were carried out, with 11 completed.

The 11 research projects into supplementary tools and alternatives to the use of aerial 1080 included:

- Studies on a new vertebrate toxic agent, para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP), as a more humane poison for use on stoats and feral cats

- Studies into traps/baits that target a specific pest, instead of multiple species at once.

EPA annual report on aerial 1080 operations 2021

Read more about the use of 1080

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