Special Report
A planned aerial 1080 drop for next year to rid Stewart Island (Rakiura) of Norway rats and other pest species is running into growing opposition.
Among the opposition or doubters that includes not only local residents but conservationists, there are even some scientists and surprisingly even the Department of Conservation.
DoC scientists Phil Bell and Al Bradley in a scoping report were sceptical and said “we do not consider that it is technically feasible to eradicate rats, cats, and possums from Stewart Island at this time”.
However Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) has been engaged to lead the planning and delivery of the Predator Free Rakiura project.
In conjunction with 1080 poison, ground-based tools, such as traps and bait stations, will also be used in and around people’s residences, including around Oban township.
Te Puka Rakiura Trust (TPRT) and the Department of Conservation are working closely with ZIP as the project transitions to the new operating model.
“Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) is a non-profit organisation founded by DOC and the NEXT Foundation,” says ZIP’s blurb.
But people are increasingly not convinced.
Dairy farmers Mary and Lindsay Molloy of Harihari on the West Coast have a holiday home at Stewart Island where they regularly stay.
“I am gutted at the stupidity of those who poison to satisfy their hideous extermination policies,” she said.
Mary who has first hand experience also of ZIP’s poisoning on the West Coast of the Perth-Whataroa-Okarito-Franz Josef wilderness said the organisation has falsely claimed to have poisoned predators there. Based on ZIP’s failure at Whataroa she is adamant that she will resist attempts to enter their Stewart Island property.
“I for one, will evict ZIP or DoC people who get near our Stewart Island house,” she says.
Blanket Poisoning
Scientist Dr. Jo Pollard is critical of DoC’s recent aerial poisoning of nearby Ulva island with brodifacoum toxin and said she had no faith in the proposed blanket poisoning of Stewart Island.
DoC’s actions are negligent since previous DOC poisoning drops on Ulva Island had devastating effects with several native bird species being killed in considerable numbers. She described as “totally irresponsible” ZIP’s and DoC’s attitude to investigating by-kill.
“That was clear in November 2021 when ZIP poisoned over 550 native black-backed gulls (Larus dominicanus), whose bodies appeared on the beaches of a south Westland river in the Perth valley area after a 1080 drop,’ said Dr Pollard.
In a reply to an OIA request, DoC defended ZIP, saying “they had not known there were so many gulls in the area.” Then more of the gulls were killed by ZIP’s poisoning in May 2022.
“The fact that many more species were likely being poisoned off in large numbers, but less obviously, was not acknowledged by either ZIP or DoC,” said Dr. Pollard. “Unbelievably, monitoring of any other creatures’ survival or recovery was only ‘incidental and anecdotal’ when ZIP researchers aerially poisoned with 1080 baits twice at extra high density, a few months apart, in ‘research’ attempting to get rid of all rats, stoats and possums.”
South Island bush robin
The toxin 1080 was first patented in the 1920s as an insecticide. Insects are vital to pollination and as food for insectivorous birds on Stewart Island such as fantail, grey warbler, bush-wren, robins, rifleman, tomtits and others while other invertebrates such as earth worms are the food for the island’s brown kiwi.
Rat Explosion
Landcare Research studies also show that the rats that survive 1080 drops (usually plus or minus 15%), with abundant food available, accelerate breeding and within 18 months have regained or well overshot pre-poison levels.
“Rats are invasive, fast breeding, opportunistic feeders – and after 1080, survivors and immigrants multiply exponentially. Not only are many native animals killed in the poisoning, within months the rat plague causes further ecological disruption and damage” she said.
Trying to control nature with poisons has not gone well for DoC in its other “island eradications” of mammals. On the Antipodes Islands, the monitored species of native birds were severely culled in aerial poisoning, which was followed by an apparent takeover by introduced hedge sparrows. On Fiordland islands, where predators (Norway rats and stoats) were removed, South Island robins (Petroica australis) have flourished and ousted other species.
Laurie Collins, a retired Forest Service officer who as a trainee was involved in the first 1080 trials in Wakatipu’s Greenstone valley in the late 1950s, suspects ZIP’s plan is a disguised attempt to poison the whitetail deer, a herd unique to the island.
Yet ZIP says in publicity “deer are not a target species for Predator Free Rakiura.”
Deer Kill
But Laurie Collins is not convinced.
“The fact is deer do get poisoned by aerial 1080 drops,” says Laurie Collins. “And ZIP and DoC must know that plus in zealously following their anti-introduced animal ideology, they’ll kills countless native birds and insects,” he says. “It’s grossly irresponsible, more so as they’re funded by public tax money.”
Predator Free Rakiura is planning to use a 10,000ha trial block at the southern end of Stewart island (Rakiura) in Autumn 2025, to asses what is needed to then extend the operation to remove possums, feral cats and hedgehogs across the remainder of the island.
We the islanders do not want this on our pristine land. We have been put in a horrible situation. This is a experiment on nature and humans.
It is becoming ever more clear that this whole ZIP nonsense has nothing to do with conservation and protecting “endangered” species (it is DOC that is endangering the species) but is a self perpetuating job creation scheme and money making exercise.
Clean green New Zealand my arse!
New Zealand uses over 90 percent of world 1080 production for a tiny percentage of the world’s land area. Doesn’t that tell the authorities something? In similar vein New Zealand authorities insist that we must fluoridate water supplies when, for example, the vast majority of Europe is not fluoridated – for well-documented reasons.
Our politicians and bureaucracies seem to be very good at knowing better than the rest of the world.
As the song has it, “When will they ever learn”?
Having lived on the West Coast for some years I was repeatedly astonished by the pathetic attempts of various authorities to justify their 1080 agendas. One contractor replied to my pointing out that they were dropping 1080 over a local water catchment area by claiming that a “shingle layer” would filter out the 1080. Yeah! Right! And these people are entrusted with the distribution of huge quantities of the stuff?
Totally against using 1080, am a Stewart Islander, and no way are Zip or Doc going onto our land. All our Neighbours also against it. Our land has an amazing amount of birds, Kiwi, Kaka, Kakariki, we have holiday houses, our guests come to see the birds, also we are Bee Keepers, they also will die.
As a full time resident of Rakiura who is opposed to the aerial use of toxins I have found DOC and Zips behavior disgusting, from trying to infiltrate the community to learn who the distractors are and to quiet them, to complaining about posters that people have put on their own property. I am being treated rudly by other members of the community for my opposition to this terrible idea that is unlikely to work and will do more damage to our beautiful motu than introduced pests.
1080 is not the right kind of posion to use. They could use biodegradable plastic tube like a hemp based min 400mm long (birds will not enter) with rat poison mix in the middle, this is target specific and a humain posion,
I can’t believe this is going to happen. The mastermind behind this is Brent Beaven. This has to be stopped.
Brent Beavan – former island resident and DOC employee. Sold up his island home here just before shit hits the fan. Hasn’t lived here for the best part of a decade though. Absolute disgrace!!!
Looks like he got out before he was thrown out. Good job too
I feel so sorry for the Stewart Island residents. They will be living under Biosecurity rules for ever and the cost involved will be huge, and anything Biosecurity is payed for by Environment Southland, so rates will be going up and up.
I agree with Laurie Collins these mad poisoners have a mission to eradicate introduced species and the white tail will be gone and as a result the Island will lose a big money spinner. Kiwi and other native species will also suffer losses. The picture attached shows that native birds eat the baits and die. Unless DOC and ZIP are dragged kicking and screaming into the public eye they will deny any losses occur or make pathetic excuses and down play the damage the poisoning inflicts. Animals take days to die and suffer incredibly. Claims are made the cruelty level is moderate. Such is the pain level deer try and remove their entrails using their back legs to rip themselves open. It’s time this was stopped.
I have heard that Zip and Doc are already on the Island and it’s turning into a circus, they don’t have a clue what they are up to and they are showing zero transparency.
All tourists visiting the Island should be given a heads up on what ZIP and DoC are planning, many would be horrified and word would soon spread of this disaster in the making.
Either ZIP are going to eradicate these pests, or they are not. What guarantees are there that they might be successful? None. If they don’t achieve eradication then they will have failed, wasted taxpayers money, adversely affected the environment and set the pests up for a massive population resurgence. i.e They are massively risking an environmental triple-tragedy.
ZIP= non-professional muppets wasting your money and vandalising the environment just so that they can justify their own existence.
That’s exactly what I have been on about! There’s is no justification that this hideous poison works for the pests, all it achieves is to kill off the native birds in the forest. It’s such a crying shame, 1080 Doesn’t work!!! It kills Everything!!!
Rats are incredible breeders, producing 5 litters a year, perhaps 10 a litter. So one female in a year has produced 50 rats.
Research shows that in the years after a 1080 drop, surviving rats (15% or thereabouts) breed furiously as Nature restores previous numbers. Within 18 months rat numbers have recovered to original numbers, the momentum of the population explosion continues and 3 years later, rat numbers have tripled.
It’s all there in research notably a study by Wendy Ruscoe in 2007 plus other studies.
So if 1080 is dropped, then because of the induced population explosion and rat numbers tripling, another dose of 1080 poison will be dropped.
That’s not counting the native buirds and insects – and whitetail deer – killed by a slow-to-kill, cruel poison.
ZIP will absolutely have deer as a bykill in thier sights. Its naive to think this is solely about “predators”. Cats,rats and possums could be managed without the use of aerial poisons. The use of brodificom shoukd be illegal in any application,an incredibly cruel toxin with longlasting implications for the wildlife both introduced and native. 1080 again is an horrific waybto kill anything but to apply it with the intention of getting deer bykill is abhorrent. Make no mistake,ZIP will eradicate everything non native if they can.l believe they do not want deer or hunters on Rakiura.
`Have these Paid tAXPAYER funded eco terroists had a look at the Otago Daily Newspaper files 100 years ago . They state we had wild cats, rats , possums and deer , But the native bird life was profilic and had naurally learned to adapt and thrive evan with the local population eating mutton birds and wood pigeons as part of the normal diet.
Bring back the trap that actually works way better than the substanded victor, I personally will put my hand in a gin trap than the scissor like victor, they ban the best trap with no evidence because it looks nasty compared to the scissor jaw which is way more cruel with no surface area..
Cyanide is the only poison that has no bykill..
Doc set up trapping to fail so they can poison and colour in a map and say thats done..
The rat plague eruption after a drop keeps them in a job for ever and a day, instead of harvesting the resources we have in front of us.. Bird song will be a thing of the past if these people are left to poison everything..
It is absolutely, stupendously, ludicrously unbelievable that anybody believes Aerial 1080 is any part of the solution to any problem whatsoever. The use of a WHO-listed Class 1A ecotoxin .. that demonstrably kills anything and everything that consumes oxygen .. thousands of tonnes of it, indiscriminately spread over millions of hectares .. is a disgraceful crime against nature.
Humanity is responsible for the demise of 60% of all wildlife, since 1970 .. a 75% reduction in insect biomass in the past 30-odd years .. over 93% of the mammalian biomass on the planet is now either human, or the animals we farm to feed ourselves .. and we are amidst the 6th mass extinction .. dubbed the Anthropocene Epoch, because it is humanity that is the main, causal factor.
It is ironic .. but no coincidence .. that the Great Acceleration is also a term coined to describe a post-World War II time period during which global population growth, pollution and exploitation of natural resources have all increased at a dramatic rate.
New Zealand’s use of Aerial 1080 closely matches the Great Acceleration .. having commenced in the late 1950’s.
When will people wake up and realise .. Aerial 1080 is not the solution .. but instead, represents the absolute epitome of the problem.
As Dr Jane Goodall asserted in her most recent visit to New Zealand “Surely, with our amazing intellect, we can get together and find more humane ways of dealing with this problem (of introduced species) than 1080.”
I have a personally handwritten letter from Sir David Attenborough (he even hand wrote the envelope), in which he asserts that he does not support the use of Aerial 1080.
There is no doubt .. Aerial 1080 is a New Zealand ecological disgrace. Not a solution .. but the epitome of the problem.