Laurie Collins of Westport has a long history of dealing with pest poisons. As a young teenage Forest Service trainee he worked on the first 1080 trials at the Caples Valley near Queenstown and in subsequent years as a pest contractor to local bodies such as in Marlborough.
He came to realise the indiscriminate killing 1080 does and its cruelty in taking 48 hours to slowly kill an animal, bird or insect. But he is more alarmed at the use of another poison brodifacoum which he says is many times worse than 1080. His reaction was in response to Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) recently laying brodifacoum around the West Coast town of Whataroa.
Far Worse
“Brodifacoum is horrifying,’ says Laurie Collins and cites data. “It’s far worse than 1080 which requires a withholding period – i.e. no stock grazed or game shot – of about six months whereas brodifacoum is 36 months. That means it’s six times more a worse poison than 1080.”
Over the years, Laurie Collins came to abhor the cruelty via suffering caused by 1080 which takes more or less 48 hours (two days) to kill. However he’s shocked that brodifacoum takes about 21 days to kill.
“By comparison based on time to kill, brodifacoum is ten times worse than 1080 in terms of cruelty,” he points out.
Privacy Over Poison?
Meanwhile a Whataroa farmer and concerned hunter Lucas Symington has expressed opposition to ZIP’s application of brodifacoum around the town. A report said 30 to 50 people attended a meeting in the town to discuss the situation – with all opposed.
Lucas Symington was reported as saying ZIP was unwilling to say exactly where brodifacoum had been laid. due to “privacy concerns.”
“Consultation was not done to a satisfactory standard. People were unaware brodifacoum was being used,” he reportedly said.
Westland Milk Products had no protocols for exposed stock he said. “Right now there’s no protocol and there’s bait on farms. It should be in place.”
Laurie Collins – “brodifacoum – many times worse than 1080″
Brodifacoum has slipped under the safety radar because like 1080, it has the property of being a secondary poison. For example in the Marlborough Sounds holiday home owners and residents scatter possum poison baiot around.
The wild pigs scoff the baits or toxic possum carcases.
When wild pigs eat possum baits like Talon, that are brodifacoum-based, they then carry the poison. As a result wild pigs are not allowed to be sold by hunters because they carry brodifacoum residues.
That’s all very well, but government doesn’t warn hunters about feeding wild pig meat on the family’s dinner table.
Talon possum bait has no controls on who can buy it. Kids could buy this deadly poison.
Back in the mid 1980s Brodifacoum ( Talon ) , was touted as a replacement for 1080 ? So here we are 40yrs later & we still have BOTH !! Our main problem in N.Z., we are VERY “heavy handed” with every Poison / Chemical/ Fert , known to Mankind , the proof is our >> Water Quality is fast becoming 3rd World ? /// So the solution is, that we must use some “real finesse” & steady down right across the board ? no need to use such a huge amount of Poison for aerial bombing Operations , as they do , one answer is STOPPING all Free Bs & Perks handed out by Big Chem to increase Sales , so a lot of Ag & Hort poisons Etc. are dumped by over spaying / application , so people can RUSH back & get the Free Hats/ Parkas ( with their Logo ) , or in the Draw for a new 4×4 ? /// PS As for Possums, the Meat should exported to China ? under the Free Trade Agreement N.Z. has with them , now Bovine T.B. is no longer a threat in many parts of the Country .