Clean Green New Zealand and Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa are not affiliated in any way with any political parties, commercial sponsors or ‘anti-1080’ groups. Our objectives in raising awareness of the potential harm from widespread use of poisons in Aotearoa New Zealand are clear, and motivated by concern for the health and well-being of our environment and compassion for all life within it.

There has been speculation on social media regarding the identity of the independent laboratory(1) which has found positive traces of 1080 poison in the dead wildlife collected on November 9th, from Westport beach in the South Island. Deliberate attempts to bully, intimidate and discredit whistleblowers are known strategies of entities determined to hide evidence of the ongoing contamination of New Zealand’s air, land and water supplies. The reason whistleblowers need to remain protected is due to serious threats made to them which agitators have recently stirred-up once again.

The case-law in New Zealand is underdeveloped, so whistleblowers are understandably sometimes reluctant to speak out. However, because of the seriousness of the situation, further whistleblowers have already come forward to talk to us. We have a secure confidentiality policy in place.

THE FACTS:
1. The New Zealand Department of Conservation (DoC) instructs its laboratories (e.g. Landcare) to use a testing method which is outdated and inadequate when addressing cases of wildlife or domestic animal poisoning, and food and drinking-water safety. Decades of documented evidence of incidents of potential contamination, as well as occupational monitoring, are now called into question.
2. It is now apparent that New Zealand citizens have been deceived by the Dept of Conservation, in relation to the testing regime and outcomes from the Westport disaster and hundreds of other such events over 65 years of aerial poisoning operations. Official Information Act responses in January 2019 reveal that Landcare was developing a modern test for 1080 poison metabolites. A functional test was also developed for New Zealand milk products, following the industry-insider threat to baby formula.
3. Public safety has been put at serious risk by these aerial poisoning operations, because:
a. risk-assessment documents are not fit for purpose
b. adherence to safety precautions are repeatedly ignored; e.g. there has been no proper disposal of the toxic carcasses which are classified as hazardous waste.
These two non-profit NGOs ask again; why is an outdated testing method being used, when there are modern methods available? Clean Green New Zealand and Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa want an open and transparent dialogue around these Government poison testing policies. We call for aerial 1080 poison operations to be stopped as a valid precaution in the interests of public health and to prevent further harm to wildlife.

1) This case is currently in the hands of lawyers

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