A scientist has made a plea to ditch 1080 poison, a slow-to-kill toxin that causes intense suffering to creatures that ingest it and as used by the Department of Conservation over large swathes of public wilderness lands. Instead Dr Pollard proposes that wild animals be viewed as a resource and humane methods to manage numbers be used instead of cruel poisons. Her articles is below.
Managing Wild Animal Populations Without the Cruelty of 1080
by Dr. Jo Pollard (BSc (Hons), PhD)
“Possums are way smarter than dogs” claimed my dog-loving friend, “way smarter”. He then told of his utter heartbreak when, as a laboratory technician, he was asked to kill all the possums he knew so well, when a research programme ended.
Animal psychologists found that possums’ (Latin name Trichosurus vulpecula) learning ability scores were “comparable with, if not superior to, those reported in earlier studies for some rodents, carnivores, and primates.”
So there is no question of possums’ abilities to suffer, after eating the 1080-poisoned food baits that are used to kill them (as used for the last 70 years), spread aerially across vast landscapes.
Observations of poisoned possums include:
“retching … vomiting … incoordinated [sic] … intermittent myoclonic spasms … repeated episodes of tremors, leg paddling … [sometimes] this activity increased in duration and severity so that it resembled a grand mal seizure … possums were sometimes propelled into the air or along the floor by these movements … Five lethally dosed possums vocalised during spasms, tremors or seizures. In two of these animals, it was loud and prolonged or repetitive during an episode.”
Imagine the horrors inflicted then witnessed by animal technicians (likely to be animal lovers) at Landcare’s facility at Lincoln, where 1376 wild-caught possums were taken for 1080 dose rate experiments, during the years 1990 to 1997. Offspring were euthanized, and most of the adults were held captive until they were accustomed to the conditions. In the experiments, the time to death after being fed the poison varied from 5-97 hours, with one possum on a low dose taking four days to die.
But, being told that possums are super-smart is unlikely to make New Zealanders dwell on their suffering. The story that possums must be killed is very deeply instilled.
The Trauma of Death by 1080
The suffering of 1080-poisoned dogs however is intolerable to those who have witnessed it. Owners remain traumatised. The dogs scream, howl, run blindly, bite at their stomach, urinate and defecate uncontrollably, convulse, vomit, froth at the mouth, vomit blood and have violent stretching seizures. A pest controller described how his dog that had been left tied up, having (apparently) earlier eaten a rabbit carcass in a 1080-poisoned area, was found dead with no teeth left. The dog had attacked everything in its vicinity, making matchwood of the kennel and ring-barking a nearby pine tree from the ground up.
Dogs are frequent accidental victims of aerial poisoning, and are at risk outside poison zones (e.g. from carcasses washed onto beaches). 1080 remains indefinitely in dried carcasses – creating a permanent risk across previously dog-friendly areas.
Dogs have been used in 1080 experiments in NZ: “the Wallaceville Animal Research Station has carried out many trials on the toxicity to various animals and on the secondary poisoning effects on dogs …” (NZ Science Review, 1959).
The story written by NZ’s Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in 2011, a foundational document supporting the use of aerial 1080, claimed against scientific evidence that 1080 had been rated as moderately humane.
In fact, if 1080 is the best tool in the box, as is often claimed by a Department of Conservation hell bent on destroying mammalian wildlife, that box should be very carefully, deeply, buried and sealed, along with the ideas behind its use.
The Best Way
The best tools for conservation are:
Firstly, saving enough habitat.
Secondly, knowledge, gained from careful, scientific ecological review and monitoring.
Thirdly, skilled hunters carrying out ecologically informed, targeted, humane, culling of wild animals. Our ancestors brought new animals to NZ and some of them need predators. It’s that simple, and the animals are resources:
Deer, possums and rabbits have all been used in large numbers in successful industries and their harvest supports communities.
Introduced predators can be helpful, e.g. mustelids help suppress mice, rats, possums, hares and rabbits.
Hunter groups (e.g. the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation and the Sika Foundation) have been carrying out a broad range of conservation work: managing introduced mammals (donating harvested venison to charity), maintaining tracks and huts, monitoring endangered birds and training recruits. Volunteers are doing this work.
The following is a quick comparison of aerial poison (“the best tool in the box”) and hunter-based management, of wild mammal populations.
| Wild Mammal Management | |
| Aerial 1080 poison | Hunters |
| Assumptions – that poisoning is needed (e.g. for anticipated effects of beech mast; or because area hasn’t been poisoned for a while) | Monitoring – flora and fauna for effects of animals; animal numbers and health |
| Widescale killing of target and non-target animals | Ecologically informed, monitored removal of target animals mimics predation (keeping numbers down, removing sick and old) |
| Many hours of suffering, across the animal kingdom | Instant death possible, minimized suffering (skilled operators), target animals only |
| Widescale, broad spectrum poison contamination (e.g. bait dust and fragments, leaching, runoff, in food chains), and persistence (e.g. carcasses, dry places) | No poison spread |
| Stoats prey-switching to birds (after rats are poisoned off) | No sudden removal of rats; hunters’ targets can include stoats and rats |
| Empty forest creates a void that rats breed up in, endangering rare animals | No sudden widescale, indiscriminate killing of animals. Rat plagues unlikely |
| Kills native animals – genetic loss | Native animals at low risk |
| $ millions per 1080 poisoning | Volunteers, with business and charitable support, plus donation of meat to communities |
| Predator targeted, anti-introduced animals mindset | Environment and community-based mindset, recognizing the strong influence of grazers in NZ’s original ecology |
Note: (1) Further reading: Towards ethical and effective conservation of New Zealand’s natural heritage https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7159/5/3/47
(2) Jo Pollard (BSc (Hons), PhD) is a scientific reviewer and author of “Towards Ethical and Effective Conservation of New Zealand’s Natural Heritage” Conservation 2025, 5(3), 47 – and author of information website 1080science.co.nz
1080 is indeed an inhumane non selective toxin.
Those that use the bush for recreation and those who have witnessed the distress of poisoned dogs and livestock struggle to accept its use is justified on a “landscape” scale.
The New Zealand government and conservation department position just fails to align to the international position with respect to the poison 1080. even cyanide is far more effective poison being quick and effective killing mechanism. Actually managing the environment is the ideal position .
The only part of the environment that benefits from 1080 is actually trees and plants. Every thing that uses oxygen ie birds animals and even fish suffer to some degree.
The concept of managing directly the environment is far more sensible that treating it with poisons.
Dr. Jo Pollard?
What would she know?
Surely anyone with extensive education, experience, intelligence and common sense that is not employed and subservient to government bureaucrats should not be listened to.
After all, as “mother Jacinda” told us, government authorities and their privileged academic lackeys are the one and only SOURCE OF ALL TRUTH.
As we all know “I am from the government and am, here to help you”
Oh I forgot that is one of the 3 big LIES.
The correct quotation was “I am from the government. You had better obey me, or else!”.
Marketing experts decided “that dog would not hunt”.
Probably because 1080 had killed it as well as any other living organisms that metabolize Oxygen.
But wait, Birds relay on metabolizing Oxygen to survive as well.
(Shut up. People are not supposed to know that)
When I 1st encountered the anti 1080 “misinformation spreaders” I though “these people must be nuts because no human being would do anything so dangerous, irresponsible and stupid.”
Or perhaps they would because no-one would believe they would do anything so dangerous, irresponsible and stupid ?
Like, maybe, starting WW2 that killed 80 Million people?
Oh yes, I forgot about that but it was ok because they seem to have “bounced back”.
So, I started reading to try to discredit these “loonies” and found out that the science agrees with their “conspiracy theories”,
As usual, there is money (lots of it) in the trade of weapons of mass destruction and death and casualties are the price those casualties have to pay.
1080 only kills mammals and predators.
Apparently, most citizens of New Zealand were not educated to understand that we are mammals and the apex predators.
Where they educated at all or just indoctrinated with government propaganda?
No worries because “there is no evidence that 1080 harms people”.
Pathology tests that would verify that harm are prohibited so, “nothing to see here”.
Signs are erected to warn us not to enter the “killing fields”.
They say dangerous to dogs.
I did not know that dogs can read.
Mine must be dumb because he can’t.
We are reassured that these chemical weapons are only used in remote areas, like picnic ones in our national parks.
Some birds might be adversely effected “but they BOUNCE BACK”. AHA, the dead birds must turn to rubber.
Just like the 80 Million casualties of WW2?
Almost all of this horrible stuff is dumped on New Zealand.
We are not depriving other nations of this wonderful stuff.
They are just too responsible to allow it to be used.
Please do not pay any attention to Dr. Pollard because the objective facts she presents might open your tiny we minds and reduce your naive trust in the people called the government.
That would never do!
Those poisoned pellets, that are scattered all over New Zealand, are Green, so they must be good.
Do not be fooled into trying one because they’re green!
A prolonged and agonizing death from convulsions and seizures is not at all good.
1080 is so effective that the same areas have to be re-poisoned every 2 to 3 years at a cost (we pay) estimated to be in excess of 18 Billion of our dollars.
$18,000,000,000.00 is quite a lot to pay for an insanely dangerous experiment whose initiators admitted “it is not likely to work but we should do it anyway”.
Translation “it’s just other people’s money so wasting it is fine because the payers will never find out”
I don’t know why I find this “predator free” AMBITION, that everyone should know is doomed to dismal and excessively expensive failure, humorous.
Maybe it is just that we call our species, that does so many horrible stupid cruel and destructive things, SAPIENT (not twice but twice).
That delusion is what really cracks me up.
Enjoy the joke but do not eat the little green pellets that are supposed to only hurt dogs or other mammals and predators.
Like, maybe US but don’t tell anyone.
I am a helicopter pilot operating WARO for 40 years on west coast South Island
1080 has destroyed the valuable export and NZ market
I now often see where the animals have thrashed the vegetation around them during
There agonising death if I did this to an animal I would be sent to jail .