Pukaha – Mt Bruce is a 942 hectare, un-fenced wildlife project situated in the Wairarapa Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It claims great success in the recovery of re-introduced bird species like kiwi – but the dark truth is, that kiwi are dying in large numbers, and the decline is directly pointing to pesticides like the aerially spread 1080 poison, or their failure to kill targeted species. This clip investigates the claims and catastrophes that are Mt Bruce …
“The species is now on the brink of extinction” Dr Jo Pollard
“The New Zealand Government’s Department of Conservation (DoC) is embarking on its largest aerial poisoning programme ever this year and endangered kea (Nestor notabilis), NZ’s mountain parrot, are almost certain to die.
DoC has a very long history of poisoning kea. Aerial poisoning with food baits laced with sodium monofluoroacetate (“1080”) was found to be killing kea more than 50 years ago and the species is now on the brink of extinction. Although the government has made no attempt to formally assess numbers, some estimates in 1986 and 1992 were already as low as 1000 birds. There may be very few kea left. Complete absences are being reported in areas of human activity (tramping huts, ski fields, car parks) where they have traditionally gathered.
In DoC studies over the last decade, an average of 12% of marked kea have been reported dead immediately after aerial 1080 poisoning, with a range up to 78%. Now that DoC are embarking on even more intensive, more extensive 1080 poisoning, there seems to be little hope for the species’ survival in the wild.
How is it that a government department charged with conserving species can cause this carnage?
New Zealand’s conservation management has reached a critically low point where science and ecology have been abandoned in favour of feverish poisoning of “pest” species. Tellingly, DoC recently described itself as a “pest control agency”.
According to DoC, it is pests that are endangering kea, therefore the outcome of poisoning will be beneficial. There are serious flaws with this idea.
Firstly, aerial baiting with 1080 poison is very poor at controlling pests, including mice, rats and stoats. Mouse numbers rise almost immediately afterwards; it is thought mice may be able to detect the toxin in food baits and that they flourish because competing species are poisoned off. Rat numbers are usually (not always) low immediately after poisoning, but they breed and re-invade rapidly and within months are typically far more numerous than before, often reaching plague levels. Stoats are sometimes killed, sometimes not (they have to eat poisoned prey to die, because they do not eat the cereal baits), but survivors and invaders can flourish post-poisoning as numbers of their main prey species, rats and mice, escalate. Surviving stoats are also known to turn to eating native birds after poisoning, when rat numbers have suddenly plummeted.
DoC’s answer to this problem is to now increase the frequency and intensity of poisoning. It is planning to spread double the number of baits, then if there are surviving rats, repeat the double-sowing. However that strategy does not help with the problem of non-acceptance of poisoned baits by mice. Whether rat and stoat numbers will be better controlled is unknown. In previous DoC operations, and in other pest populations (flies, laboratory rats and rabbits) repeated 1080 poisoning has become increasingly less effective because pests have developed behavioural and/or genetic resistance. One thing is for sure- kea and other rare native species will be severely at risk.
Secondly, there is no scientific evidence that mammalian pests are the main cause of the kea’s demise as is being claimed by DoC. Its own studies and ornithological studies had previously concluded (in the 1960s, 1990s and last decade) that although living in the company of stoats, kea were “relatively immune” to predation.
In the last few years DoC has made an intensive effort to prove that stoats are a major predator of kea. The evidence that its much-vaunted, very expensive 1080 poisoning programmes are killing kea has been very inconvenient and it has done its best to create the illusion that 1080 actually helps kea.
But DoC’s recent documents show only spurious, indefensible figures based on “seed rain” and contortions of historic data. Hundreds of hours of camera surveillance inside and outside kea nests have produced very little evidence of predation: at the Kea Konvention in April this year we were repeatedly shown a photograph of a stoat that was “about to get” a nesting kea, and a video that failed to run. Even if DoC’s surveillance had shown lots of predation, nest monitoring in itself is known to attract predators and cause adults to abandon chicks so such “evidence” would be hopelessly biased.
So kea are set to disappear, and DoC is set to blame pests, rather than 1080 poisoning, for their demise. The public will be none the wiser unless they are interested and motivated enough to question DoC’s propaganda.
The plight of kea should cause alarm for anyone concerned about the fate of New Zealand’s ecological heritage. Not only birds, but all air-breathing organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants and invertebrates are affected by 1080 (it interferes with the Krebs cycle used in respiration).
The toxin has a marked ability to spread: in cereal dust and fragments created during aerial spreading, in poisoned animals, baits carried by animals, urine, faeces, carcasses and water. On DoC’s own admission, reliable data on poisoning death rates exist only for six endemic birds. Of those, two (fern birds Megalurus punctatus and kea) have been found to be poisoned in large numbers. What is happening to the rest of New Zealand’s endemic species?
ROUTEBURN TRACK TRAVESTY – TRAMPERS NOT INFORMED !
By Carol Sawyer
An observer at the start of the Routeburn track said “he saw a couple getting packs out of their vehicle. He asked them if they realized 1080 poison was going to be dropped from the skies the very next day. They were shocked. They had just come from the DoC Office ( and presumably paid their hut fees), and no staff member had told them about the scheduled poisoning.”
Yesterday, September 27, 2017, HeliOtago dropped 1080 poison on the Routeburn and Dart Valleys, over the Routeburn Track. They operated out of Dan’s Paddock at Paradise. ( For ‘Lord of the Rings’ fans, this is where Gandalf the Grey rode into Isengard ).
Two of HeliOtago’s now infamous Rescue Helicopters were involved in dropping the poison – ZK-HJK ( white BK-117 ) and ZK-IME ( red BK-117 ).
Shane Wilson tells me he was at the carpark at the start of the Routeburn Track, at The Divide on the Milford Road, on September 26, the day before the 1080 drop. There were 14 or 15 empty vehicles at the carpark. Some would have belonged to daytrippers, and some to people doing the four day tramp.
Carpark at the start of the Routeburn track
He saw a couple getting packs out of their vehicle. He asked them if they were walking the Routeburn Track. They were. They were Brits. He asked them if they realized 1080 poison was going to be dropped from the skies the very next day. They were shocked. They had just come from the DoC Office ( and presumably paid their hut fees ), and no staff member had told them about the scheduled poisoning.
The information sent by the Dept of Conservation to Wild Animal Recovery Operations (WARO ) members on 25 September, 2017 states :
“All tracks in the Dart and Routeburn will be closed during the drop. Nearby tracks will also be shut including the Rock Burn and Beans Burn; these closures will be up to 24 hours. Overnight trampers already within the area will be held at huts by DOC staff until operations are complete. People planning to visit these areas are advised to check with a DOC visitor centre prior to their trip”
Well these people did visit a DoC Visitor Centre and were not informed. Also, what right have DoC staff to “HOLD” people at huts ?!!!
PS: Shane had a copy of the DoC letter to WARO operators on his phone, and read it to those British tourists, informing them that they would be ‘held’ at their hut the next day. He says they were stunned.
Please read our 1080 pages for further info on the NZ Government’s practice of regularly slathering NZ with 1080, a poison banned in most other countries. Find links there for other resources on 1080 compiled by Carol Sawyer (including coverage by the Graf Brothers, creators of the must watch doco ‘Poisoning Paradise). EnvirowatchRangitikei
Shocking information here. This is an ad for the Ban 1080 party for the election just gone. A short clip that provides visual evidence of DoC’s documentation of Kiwi deaths. Remember our post on the 89 deaths that showed no testing for 1080 as being cause of death … the obvious sure fire way to prove it WASN’T 1080 & they didn’t use it? Makes you wonder doesn’t it? Why would they not do that? DoC it would appear, prefers to squirm out of the obvious ways of proving to us that 1080 is doing a good job. Then there was the NZ Lab’s loss of a human heart that a MD had asked to have tested for possible 1080 poison. Again, makes you wonder doesn’t it? What are they hiding? In my humble opinion I think it might be the evidence 1080 isn’tworking.
For further info and links to the Graf Boys’ must watch doco ‘Poisoning Paradise’, their websites, YT Channel and other relative info see our 1080 pages at the main menu EnvirowatchRangitikei
Metiria Turei challenged the National Government’s woeful funding of the Department of Conservation and claimed that since 2008 there had been a cut in real terms of $422 million dollars. This concern was expressed in the context of Environment Commissioner Jan Wright’s recent report that stated that 80% of New Zealand’s native bird species were in bad shape and 35% were in serious trouble (close to extinction). Some populations are so small that grandparents are forced to mate with grandchildren and inbreeding within many populations is a major concern.
True to form, Maggie Barry resorted to a personal attack:
“I guess because the member has never been anywhere near Government she doesn’t understand very much about the budget process. The increase in spending in DoC is at $107 million dollars this year, it has been a 20% increase since 2008. The member’s wilful misrepresentation of the figures is pretty pathetic, even by that member’s standards.”
While it must be acknowledged that the Government is embarking on a limited pest eradication programme, this should be regarded in the context of cuts and severe underfunding over previous years. It is the Minister of Conservation who is misrepresenting the facts as Kevin Hague found out in 2016 through Parliamentary Library research.
The following can easily be found through simple Google searches:
2009, DoC had to cut its budget by $54 million, or $13.5 million over four years. This meant almost 200,000 hectares of planned pest eradication did not go ahead.
2013, there were 140 more job losses (330 since 2009, around 15% of the workforce).
2016, an associate professor in the school of accounting and commercial law at Victoria University noted that the Vote Conservation for the 16/17 year was $41.8 million less than the previous year.
2017, $21 million over 4 years for pest eradication and $76 million to spend on tourist infrastructure.
Just wondered if you were aware that 1080 will be poisoning the land behind Waikanae in September. This article
Note the Comments that follow the article.
Here’s what the CEO of SPCA has to say recently about 1080.
1080 poisoning is a horrible way to die and it is indiscriminate in what it kills. The Department of Conservation (DOC) is dropping more 1080 poison this year than ever before across huge swathes of our forests, despite the inevitable damage it will do to a wide range of ‘non-target’ animals and birds.
We are saying there has to be a better way. These 1080 drops are not surgical strikes that only knock out so-called ‘target’ species. On the contrary, 1080 poison is a weapon of mass destruction that leads to the agonising deaths of many ‘non-target’ species, including deer, pigs, and, yes, native birds. DOC is dropping…
This information comes from Carol Sawyer regarding the effect 1080 is having on our bee population … it is not good. How can we possibly know the honey we are eating is not being affected? It’s long past time this heinous poisoning practice was stopped. Why is NZ still using it when most of the rest of the world has banned it? (See our 1080 pages & further links at the main menu). EnvirowatchRangitikei
The EU has just placed a 2 year ban on bee-killing pesticides. (1080 is a broad spectrum pesticide –insecticide and it is fatal to bees and other insects) (Meads ) In 2008 we monitored and filmed the aftermath of the aerial 1080 drop in the Kauaeranga River. We noted that the poisoned pellets not only were present in the Kauaeranga River (Thames Water Supply) in quantity, but they had been sown right across a significant number of bee hives in the area. These cereal baits are made up of about 20% sugar so they were literally crawling with bees. This careless broadcasting of a deadly poison wrapped in an attractive food is an unsavoury practice in more ways than one.
Penny Fisher (Landcare Research) in a paper notes that in Dec 2002 Jan 2003 three honeycomb samples tested from the Taumaranui area after the Tongariro aerial drop were found to contain 1080 residues. This is dangerous practice and a sure way of destroying our export base when this poison is found in our products.
One of our organic bee keepers on the Northern tip of the Coromandel is faced with an immense problem from the 1080 aerial drop due this month. What does he do with his five hundred hives? If any of his hives are within 3 km of a 1080 drop his honey does not meet the organic qualities required for importation in many countries
Not only is this a logistics nightmare to move all the hives but his bees will probably go hungry because there is just not that many good places left on the Coromandel for bees. Many of the wild hives in our forest will not survive this attack on them by the Department Of Conservation.
Graeme and Julie ************
Whakatete Bay.
Graeme told me ( November, 2015 ) :
“This is a letter I got printed in the opinions column of the Local Newspaper.
After I had it printed I was rung by the President of the Bee Keepers Association. He asked me if I really had proof of 1080 being found in honeycomb samples tested. I pointed him in the right direction so he could study the Landcare papers for himself.
He was quite friendly after that and said that he had been contacted by a Coromandel Beekeeper who had complained that his Honeycomb had been stained green from the dye in the 1080 baits from a nearby 1080 drop.”
“The oral LD50 in the honey bee is 0.8 ug/bee. Because no deaths occur within 2 hours after feeding, poisoned bees may make several foraging trips before dying.” ( Goodwin and Ten Houten, 1991 ) – and therefore take a lot of 1080 back to the hive first ! ( from “Sodium Monofluoroacetate ( 1080 ) Hazards to Fish, Wildlife and Invertebrates : A Synoptic Review”, Ronald Eisler, 1995, Page 16 ) Note – 1 ug is 1 microgram, or 1,000th of a mg or one millionth of a gram, or 1 billionth of a kg. So a honeybee can die from eating less than 1 billionth of a kg of 1080.
Carol Sawyer
Photo: Carol SawyerA Bee on a 1080 pellet (Photo: Lew Hore via Carol Sawyer)Does our Govt really want this?
An excellent new website/resource from the Graf Boys (Clyde & Steve Graf) who have actively campaigned for many years against the wholesale slathering of NZ with 1080 poison. These guys are not armchair experts.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies 1080 as ‘Extremely Hazardous’, most countries ban it outright, yet NZ uses 85% of the world’s supply … presumably the world hasn’t figured out what a wonderful thing it really is.
NZ’s ‘esteemed’ leaders feel compelled it seems to press on in the face of mounting independent research/science against this hideous practice. Land of the clean and green no more.
You’ll find links to all of the relevant information at their site. See our pages also for other articles on 1080. EnvirowatchRangitikei
Community groups, farmers, doctors, scientists and individuals are actively working toward a complete ban of 1080 poison use in New Zealand. Every day more people are becoming more informed and more involved with reviewing and questioning the “research” and information used by the poisoning agencies to justify their massive aerial 1080 poisoning campaigns.
The Facebook page 1080 Eyewitness now boasts over 16,000 members – momentum is certainly growing …
Science – We often use and reference the 1080 Science website – Dr Jo Pollard has spent several years reviewing and collecting scientific information and data – www.1080science.co.nz – The website includes information on all aspects of 1080 poison, the Environmental Risk Management Authority’s reassessment, reviews on the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s independent report into 1080 poison, and also research submitted by independent scientists.
The Graf Boys documentary work – In 2006 The Graf Boys (Clyde & Steve) were asked by community members from Taupo if they could make a documentary about 1080 poison. They agreed. The documentary was called – A Shadow of Doubt – took 12 months to produce, and it played twice on Maori Television. The film was a subtle introduction to 1080 poison use in New Zealand, with no fingers pointed. (The Graf Boys have since produced over 20 documentaries and short films on the subject of 1080 poison).
In 2008, while exploring the Kahurangi National Park, the brothers filmed a native weka bird feeding on a possum carcass. Endemic birds are meant to be protected, not poisoned by toxic animal carcasses laying around after aerial poison drops. As a result, The Graf Boys spent the next 18 months filming Poisoning Paradise. This time the documentary was blunt, and pulled no punches. The film won multiple international awards, but to this day, no national television station in New Zealand has played the film – despite being offered it free, many times. To watch Poisoning Paradise click here.
More miracles here from DOC. The poison 1080 was created as an insecticide, however DOC claims it isn’t killing insects. Now that is interesting. Listen to what the science said and how DOC got around that. And see how very uninterested they are in the long term monitoring of the death of invertebrates, an integral part of our ecosystem.
Someone here has summarized the situation on DOC’s science quite excellently I thought in a recent comment on our blog:
“Regardless of what killed the kiwi the whole argument can be boiled down with math…
$3.5b spent on 1080
•DOC can’t point to one species in recovery
•Dead kiwi are from 1080 (then 1080 isn’t working)
•Dead kiwi are from predation (then 1080 isn’t working).
•We are dropping enough every year to kill 22m people yet apparently rodents and possums are still present in huge numbers (then 1080 isn’t working).
I’m sorry but I can’t see any result other than 1080 isn’t working.
Let’s try another 3.5b worth of poison on our lands just to be sure since we are using the fire and hope method rather than scientific evidence based research.
I have more native bird song in my five trees in residential Auckland than there were in the video clip from Clive Graf with a councillor in a bush block controlled with 1080.”
Check out the 1080 pages for further info and links to the GrafBoys’ channel.
Well it must be getting very bad when mainstream media is concerned about the image of a woman drinking from our toxic (oops 100% pure) rivers. Seriously. Horowhenua has one of the top 10 worst polluted lakes in NZ, so toxic that ingesting it could potentially kill a small child or an animal. Then we can only swim in 40% of our rivers, how ever is the tourist going to discern which 40% they are? Signs up everywhere praps? Drink this but not that? Then there’s the 1080 issue (non issue according to the corporation) with the pellets landing in our drinking water. Ever join any dots about the soaring cancer stats? Isn’t one in 3 or less a bit high? Anyway, a warning to tourists, don’t believe the spin. Our esteemed authorities even dump sewage into the waterways here. Buy bottled water like you do in third world countries, just to be safe. We really are getting into third world status in my opinion with some places bringing home bottles from the water fountains. Oh, and on the spin, NZ is not the least corrupt nation on the planet at all … sadly that is all spin as well. (See here also). Along with the not so well known fact that we are actually a corporation and not a true government. EnvirowatchRangitikei
This would be more like the truth from our ‘protective’ authorities who place profits over health, being a corporation and all … a young man contracted trench mouth from oral contact with the water this sign guards
While concerns grow about the health of New Zealand’s waterways – including the potential for reputational damage – it has not changed the way the country presents itself to the world.
The latest “100% Pure” campaign, released last week, shows a tourist drinking water from a river, something that would be dangerous in parts of the country.
The Government-funded ad was released last week by Tourism New Zealand (TNZ), and will be broadcast around the world over the next two years.
The campaign is titled “where one journey leads to another”, and anchors on a dream-like video following two tourists tramping, diving and kayaking in various locations throughout New Zealand.
FIRST A 1080 POISON BUCKET IS DROPPED, AND NEXT PELLETS ARE RAINED ON TRAMPERS, IN A ‘MARLBOROUGH HELICOPTERS LTD’ DOUBLE-WHAMMY COCKUP!
This bungled 1080 drop on Mt Stanley/ Tennyson Inlet, Marlborough Sounds on 2 November 2013, may be three and a half years ago, but how many people know about it?
I have been sent two reports in the post, that give a bit more background.
1 ) “Investigation into uncommanded bucket release” by John Sinclair, NZ AAA and NZ Helicopter Assn, Occurrence Investigator
2 ) “Notes on Aerial 1080 drop 2/11/2013, Mt Stanley, Tennyson Inlet” by Phil Clerke, senior biodiversity ranger, Dept of Conservation, Picton
These two reports make for fascinating reading.
This drop was conducted by Marlborough Helicopters Ltd for the Dept of Conservation. Two pilots were involved, flying two Bell Jetrangers, ZK-HJI and ZK-HZE. The senior of the two pilots was a director of the helicopter company. The other pilot was completing only his second poison drop, “but he had considerable experience in other aerial agricultural operations and is a competent pilot with sufficient experience to undertake poison drops” Occurrence Investigator, John Sinclair said.
I shall call them Pilot One and Pilot Two.
According to the report by DoC’s Phil Clerke, Pilot One left the barge to commence his baiting, but arrived back “somewhat shaken” and minus his bucket. He had ” visibly received an impact above the eye ( I was later to learn it was from the breaking airline leading to the bucket ). I was unsure of the exact details but picked up that the bucket’s airline then struck the rotors as well. I later learned that (Pilot One) also lost partial sight in this eye.”
This report differs slightly from the Occurrence Investigator, John Sinclair’s, report which says
” …….(Pilot One) was carrying out a trickle feed of sensitive boundaries when the bucket and its load of 1080 suffered an uncommanded release from the helicopter. In the departure sequence a pneumatic control line severed and flicked up cutting the pilot’s eye”. Also the “pneumatic control line had connected with the OAT and cracked the windscreen”.
Despite this injury, Pilot One flew himself to Blenheim and came back in an R22 with a long lifting chain, after which Pilot Two went off (with the chain presumably) to recover the dropped bucket! Once this was done, Pilot One returned to Blenheim in the R22.
John Sinclair’s report has a great deal of detail about the bucket release, but he says
“I believe that the most likely cause of the uncommanded release of the cargo hook was the helicopter’s manual cargo hook release being activated, then not properly returned to the safe position before it was next used” (Human error, in other words).
Because of all this dropped bucket palaver, this meant that the less experienced pilot, Pilot Two, had to complete the sensitive boundaries – instead of now-injured & more experienced Pilot One, the one who was supposed to be doing it. John Sinclair’s report reads :
“In the course of doing this Pilot Two misjudged conditions and allowed the wind to carry a small amount of bait onto the Nydia Bay Track. Pilot Two was under considerable pressure because of the need to do another drop the next day in Golden Bay. While DoC had offered to postpone the operation there would be the logistics of barging all the bait back to Picton if the operation was curtailed. These pressures may have impacted on his subconscious, especially given that the weather windows this spring have been very few and far between.”
The bait falling “onto the Nydia Bay Track” unfortunately appears to have fallen on the trampers mentioned in the article below.
In the Occurrence Investigator John Sinclair’s report, he just refers to it thus:
“The dropping of the bucket did however impact on an adverse environmental effect later in the day”. ( The adverse environmental effect being presumably, dropping 1080 pellets on trampers.)
In the DoC report, Phil Clerke says a DoC worker, Wendy, “radioed in to pass on that she had met trampers that claimed they were rained on, on the track at the saddle”.
The trampers, incidentally, knew of the 1080 drop but had been told the track itself was SAFE as it had an exclusion zone of 20 metres.
Some questions I have are these :
1 ) Why did Pilot One fly a helicopter back to Blenheim and collect another one, when it had a cracked windscreen and he had a cut on his eye ! Not only that but he returned with another helicopter !
2 ) Why was a pilot who had only done one 1080 drop before, allowed to fly the sensitive boundaries, when as well as this the wind had got up – Phil Clerke says “the wind was noted to increase in velocity, Pilot Two and I had a discussion about this. It was still considered workable.” So pellets land on trampers!
3 ) This question should be asked of DoC : Why on earth was 1080 poison loaded onto helicopters off a barge in pristine Tennyson Inlet? The DoC report says, “A vacuum cleaner, dust brushes/ pans were to be used with the initial barge clean up to reduce wash down contamination. Wash down would only be used when no further bait fragments could be recovered.” (Meaning 1080 dust would be washed into Tennyson Inlet, presumably!)
Carol Sawyer
Here is the stuff.co.nz report on this incident:
Trampers Want an Apology after Pellets Rained Down
Two trampers want an apology from Conservation Minister Nick Smith after the area around them was showered with 1080 pellets as they walked the Nydia Track in the Marlborough Sounds.
Simon and Carol Caley had set out from Duncan Bay on Saturday when they saw a 1080 warning sign and met a DOC employee who assured them helicopters would not drop pellets within 20 metres of the track.
Near the high point of the walk at Nydia Saddle, Mrs Caley heard pellets dropping through the trees and one just missed her foot. She said she felt dust on her face and neck, had an appalling taste in her mouth and breathed in a strong smell of cinnamon.
On the 22nd of August, 2014, 32,000 kilos of 1080 poison bait was cast across Mt Pirongia, near Hamilton. It was enough poison to kill 240,000 people, almost twice the population of Hamilton…
A previous 2007 drop across the mountain was “hailed a success” by Waikato Regional Council, despite farmers raising concern about contamination, including to drinking water.
The New Zealand manufacturer’s (owned by NZ Govt) 1080 poison label includes the following warnings –
“Ecotoxic”,
“Toxic to terrestrial vertebrates.”
“Take measures to reduce of non-target animals being exposed to the toxin either through eating the baits or by scavenging the carcasses of poisoned animals.”
“Harmful to aquatic organisms.”
“Take all practicable steps to manage any harmful effects of a spillage including preventing baits from accidentally entering streams or waterways.”
“This product is toxic to wildlife. Birds and mammals feeding on carcasses of contaminated animals may be fatally poisoned.”
“Where practicable, the exposed bodies of all poisoned animals should be collected and destroyed by complete burning or deep burial in a landfill approved for hazardous substances. Dehydrated carcasses may remain dangerous to dogs or cats for an indefinite period. A single mouse poisoned by 1080 may contain enough poison to kill an adult dog.”
“Take measures to minimise the chance of baits accidentally entering any body of water.”
And … “Apply the product only as specified by label directions.” …
Flight charts released by the Department of Conservation reveal that 1080 poison was dropped directly into most streams and catchments, including to eight of the nine known water abstraction points. Poisoned carcasses have been left to rot in the streams, and animal welfare concerns have been raised. The Department of Conservation Mt Pirongia aerial drop, breached or ignored all of these warnings …
More disturbing discoveries on the supposed effectiveness of the pest eradication programs our once clean green paradise has to offer … from the GrafBoys.
“Mt Bruce’s Pukaha claims great success in the recovery of re-introduced bird species like kiwi – but the dark truth is, that kiwi are dying in large numbers, and the decline is directly pointing to pesticides like the aerially spread 1080 poison, or their failure to kill targeted species.”
Pukaha – Mt Bruce is a 942 hectare, un-fenced wildlife project situated in the Wairarapa Region of the North Island of New Zealand.
It claims great success in the recovery of re-introduced bird species like kiwi – but the dark truth is, that kiwi are dying in large numbers, and the decline is directly pointing to pesticides like the aerially spread 1080 poison, or their failure to kill targeted species.
This clip investigates the claims and catastrophes that are Mt Bruce …
Helicopters used to save human lives are hired to poison deer in the Mt Aspiring National Park.
It’s the peak of the tourism season, and the Department of Conservation aerially spread 1080 poison bait across 38,000 hectares of the waterways the visiting trampers are drinking from. Hear what they have to say … [WATCH VIDEO]
Thank you to the Graf brothers for another excellent record of what is happening with this poison in our once clean green land.
The disturbing thing about this use of the rescue helicopters is, how well cleaned are they before carrying people? I have read from other bloggers of an incident where a plane was left on a grass runway overnight before being cleaned & sheep grazing around it overnight died. Okay this is only anecdotal evidence however enough to ring the warning bells. This surely cannot be a 100% safe practice carrying both deadly poison AND sick people.
In the case of Otago there was controversy in October last year (2016) when concerns about this use of rescue helicopters were raised.
Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust manager Ken Franklin said “the trust had two dedicated rescue helicopters which were used only for rescue missions.
Two back-up helicopters owned by Helicopter Otago, which the trust used when its main two were busy, were being used to drop 1080. “SOURCE This was also amidst allegations of alleged threats from 1080 protesters.
On that note, it’s reiterated here, we don’t in any way endorse violence or violent protest. But we do believe that people have a right to the truth. With correct information informed choices can be made. And bear in mind regarding allegations of threats of violence, corporations think nothing of lying as experts explain in the the excellent exposé of corporate behaviour ‘The Corporation’ movie (viewable HERE). Watch it and educate yourself.
Visit our 1080 pages at the main menu for further information on 1080, see especially the sub page for a long and comprehensive list of links and resources. Use ‘Categories’ to find articles on the topic.
1080 POISON LIKE BEING ELECTROCUTED FOR TWO PLUS DAYS, SAYS VET
A vet who is prepared to speak out is Dr Howard Ralph BVSc (Hons). MBBS (Hons), MVS (Wildlife Medicine), JCCA Accred (Anaesthesia), Dip TESL, A/D Fine Arts, Cert Ed NSW, Clinical Forensic M O, Manly Sydney, NSW, Australia
He says “1080 poison – it is like being electrocuted for 2 plus days”.
The SAFE NZ ( Save Animals From Exploitation ) website says :
“Cruel effects of 1080
Death from 1080 is cruel and protracted. Animals receiving a lethal dose of 1080 show severe signs of poisoning, with death resulting from heart or respiratory failure. Clinical signs of poisoning include rapid and laboured breathing, tremors and muscle spasms, terminal convulsions and death. It usually takes possums between 6-18 hours to die.
A witness to a possum poisoning commented, ( and you have to ask yourself what kind of scientist could actually deliberately poison possums to see what 1080 poison did, then witness this and not want to put the poor creature out of its misery !! ) :
“From about four hours after poisoning until death all lethally dosed possums exhibited spasms involving the limbs or body. Possums vocalised during spasms, tremors or seizures. Vocalisation was loud and prolonged. (Squeaking, gasping and gagging noises were also frequently heard during retching and terminal breathing.) Seizures included stiffening of limbs with hunching of the shoulders; jerks in limbs, head, abdomen or shoulder; leg paddling; rolling onto the back with a stiffened body; continuous body rolling; trembling; and rigidity of the entire body. Possums were sometimes propelled into the air by these movements…”
1080 is not a humane way to kill any animal. Death is painful, torturous and slow.”
Possums take 6 to 18 hours to die. Pictured is an orphaned possum joey whose mother died just such a death. Of course this baby had to die too. Thousands of these joeys are left to die a lingering death in our forests – cold and hungry and alone. They just can’t all be saved even if they are found.
On the 13th July 2016, together with a few friends, we went to the site of a 50,000 hectare 1080 poison drop in Central North Island, NZ. This is our story. Everything you see is exactly how it was. (The Graf brothers).
Check out our 1080 pages for further info & links, &/or search ‘categories’. Use the share buttons to help spread the word on all the untruths we have been told … help us spread truth.
A Takaka tramper who thought she was doing a public service by picking up 1080 poison pellets on the Heaphy Track nine days after an aerial drop of the toxin, has been issued with a warning by police and the Department of Conservation for carrying out an illegal activity.
Showing councillors the wet blue-green poison baits in a plastic bag during the public forum of a Tasman District Council meeting in Takaka yesterday, Hera Livingston said she had been “disgusted” to find 60 of the poison baits within the first four hours of walking the track from Brown Hut, in Golden Bay.
Asking the council to call a halt to aerial 1080 poisoning operations in the district, Ms Livingston said: “This is a health and safety issue. I spoke to a couple of French tourists on the track and they had no idea what the stuff was.”
Ms Livingston said she picked up 22 pellets but then stopped when she continued to find more.
She said she had not seen a warning sign at the beginning of the walk, although there were signs further up the track.
Observers at the 1080 drop near Lake Wanaka recently observed many baits on the tracks, with many tourists present that day. Carol Sawyer who was there that day described the following:
By 10.00 am two security officers had cleared the track to the Blue Pools. One had no gloves on, so she just kicked the baits to the side of the track. The other had gloves so he picked them up and tossed them into the undergrowth. It wasn’t much of an effort. One tourist told me he had seen two baits on the track and another showed me film of baits at the side of the track. SOURCE
Another observer said the bright coloured baits would have looked to a three year old, like a lolly scramble. How safe is this people?
Please educate yourself on the truth about 1080. There are links at our 1080 pages at the main menu (under Chemicals). You can find other 1080 articles and posts by using the categories drop down box.
A warning for those that are walking to the Kahurangi Light House (West of Golden Bay)
Last week people we know who live in the region picked up a “very gutted” walker (during the uninformed 1080 predrop) who said 5 choppers were dumping pellets on him along the coast line as he took his annual holidays out at the Kahurangi Light House. He has gone home to Wellington vowing not to come back to this area.
Yesterday when they were away from home they were alerted by a neighbour via txt that two 1080 trucks were heading to the Anatori to complete the kill over the Kahurangi National Park.
Our informants visited DOC and got the complete “run around” when questioning the information to the public procedures. One woman said “if they can meet the local newspaper deadline” the alerts to the drop would be listed there. Another said they leave a map in the front window of DOC and they don’t know from day to day when the drops are going to be because they are weather dependent. What? Do tourists have to visit the DOC office in Takaka every day to know if they (including tourists) and their animals can visit the region’s forest and coastal areas!? The Maps on the DOC website are just a general view NOT GIVING DATES. if you go to this link you will see that the date on this is 2016. We are now in 2017 and they are still using the same map! http://www.doc.govt.nz/pagefiles/163574/kahurangi-map-battle-for-ou…
No one in the Takaka DOC office seemed to know if there had been a notification our informants told us. They eventually found one in the local rag but were stunned at the apparent compartmentalization/ ignorance of the staff. The notification in the local paper DOES NOT HAVE DATES they said. After speaking to Manager Steven (no last name given) they were informed it was up to the people to check with DOC before walking any of their tracks! EXCUSE ME? You are laying poison that any child or dog could pick up and you don’t have to notify of dates? Just a general notification is acceptable?
People, this is very serious. You can see how our basic rights now have a clause added to them. Your government is poisoning willy nilly and this is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find out if it is safe to move through our forests.
May I ask if the innumerable tourists who visit NZ are informed of this poison program and if it is now THEIR OWN RESPONSIBILITY to get information from a DOC Office (they have undoubtedly never heard of)? Going by Carol Sawyer’s recent article, most of them are totally oblivious to the 1080 drops and had no idea what was going on with SEVEN helicopters overhead.
This is appalling management of NZ’s taxpayers’ rights and resources. The Government MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for putting citizens’ and tourists’ lives in danger. Tourism NZ should be alerting EVERY incoming visitor about these ‘clean green’ poison programs at the very least. The tourists that our informants have spoken to over these last months are absolutely horrified to hear of this program after walking our supposedly safe tracks. Many of them have vowed to go home to alert their traveling friends they said, to avoid New Zealand and under the circumstances, so they should. If our Government is not going to be forthcoming as to the nature of this program, then is it really up to the accommodation places, hosts of visitors and the locals to share this information?
The following are the ONLY ALERTS and please note the generalizations and even lack of dates on the newspaper notification.
This is apparently the only legally required notification of the drops in the window of DOC TAKAKA
…and this is the generalization that actually made the deadline of the Golden Bay Weekly – note the notification was 2016 and this still applies?
Acceptable? Wake up out of the haze and see what is being done folks.
See also our 1080 pagesfor info & search ‘categories’ for further related articles.
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We did a great job of poisoning the tourists yesterday. The NZ Department of Conservation and HeliOtago are to be commended! ( Don’t get upset – I am being ironic)
At Makarora, Mt Aspiring National Park, an area of unsurpassed beauty on the eastern side of the Southern Alps, yesterday, 23 February, 2017, HeliOtago dropped 76 tonnes of one of the world’s deadliest poisons, Compound 1080, in a DoC “Battle for Our Birds” operation. 1080 has no antidote.
The Blue Pools Walk is a short walk accessed from the main highway, State Highway 6, and is extraordinarily popular with tourists who want a break and a cool bush-walk after driving over the Haast Pass from South Westland. They also often want a swim on a hot day, and I am told tour-bus drivers encourage them to swim and to jump off the bridge at the Blue Pools. Link: https://www.lakewanaka.co.nz/explore/blue-pools-track
Loading zone for the 1080 operation on the (23rd Feb 2017) Makarora, Mt Aspiring, National Park, NZ. HeliOtago is the helicopter contractor Photo: Carol Sawyer
The loadout zone at Cameron Flat is seven minutes up the road from the little village of Makarora.
“Yesterday morning the river directly above the Blue Pools was poisoned, along with the rest of the area – Makarora, Wilkin, Young, Blue Valleys, and all the streams that flow into the Makarora River and also end up in Lake Wanaka.”
1080 is a broad-spectrum poison: it kills all oxygen-breathing animals and organisms
By 10.00 am two security officers had cleared the track to the Blue Pools. One had no gloves on, so she just kicked the baits to the side of the track. The other had gloves so he picked them up and tossed them into the undergrowth. It wasn’t much of an effort. One tourist told me he had seen two baits on the track and another showed me film of baits at the side of the track.
“1080 is a broad-spectrum poison: it kills all oxygen-breathing animals and organisms. This alone is reason enough to cease dispersing it into the environment. It indiscriminately kills and contaminates everything from the insects that underpin the native fauna food chain to precious native birds, dogs and farm animals.” Dr Meriel Watts
Helicopter run directly over the edge of the bush and the Makarora River, Sth Island NZ Photo : Peter Hartley
A Makarora local, who was on the track at the time they were dropping the 1080 poison yesterday morning, told me the helicopter that went over his head zig-zagged above the Blue Pools, dropping 1080 poison, and the baits went into the water directly above the Blue Pools. The chopper also went along the edge of the Makarora River, along the bushline, dropping 1080 baits so they were flung out into the Makarora River too. None of the streams had designated buffer zones and so they were poisoned directly, BUT the Wilkin, Young and Makarora Rivers were supposed to have buffer zones. Therefore at least one, the designated bait-free zone around the Makarora River, was poisoned, even if unintentionally.
The carpark at the Blue Pools walk, Makarora, NZ, 23 Feb 2017 where the 1080 drop occurred … tourists undeterred. Bait was clearly visible with minimal effort to make it safe. To a child it would have looked like a lolly scramble it was said. Photo: Carol Sawyer
I spent most of yesterday afternoon at the entrance to the Blue Pools track. So did Shane Wilson and his father Ron. There was a constant stream of tourists. As they went in and as they came out we asked them if they knew about 1080 poison, and when the inevitable “No” was the reply, we handed them an explanatory ( and completely factual, and non-emotive ) flier, and then answered their many questions.
They were stunned – seriously ! There were no signs saying the poison had been dropped that morning. They didn’t understand that it was an aerial drop. They didn’t know what all the helicopters were doing.( There were seven helicopters swinging buckets and it sounded at times like I imagine the Vietnam War must have sounded ). They asked me : Is there a fire ? Are they mining ? Are they building something in the forest ?
One man, in appalled disbelief, came up to me and asked if he could show me film he had taken of a helicopter ” so close to people !” He had a young child on his shoulders. The helicopter was a speck on a ridge and THAT shocked him ? Those choppers had been swinging out so much closer to people than he had witnessed !
One young Swedish man was extremely distressed. He had swum in the water and was very upset when he found out about the poison. I said “Look you will be fine. You swam in it. You didn’t drink it”. Then he said he had been drinking it !
So had his girlfriend – from the Czech Republic.
I spoke to Indians, Brazilians, French, Germans, Scandinavians, Czechs, Danes, Dutch, most of whom understood English, or at least one of their number did and translated for the others, English, Americans, Australians, Canadians. ( Not, however, the Chinese. Malaysians, etc – I tried to talk to them but most didn’t speak English and went away as happily oblivious to poison as when they arrived !)
It was quite a business explaining why the government was dropping 1080 poison and why it was totally unnecessary but – when you tell people we drop 90% of the world’s supply and that it is killing EVERYTHING, not just the species they want to eradicate, and that stoats are not interested in 1080 baits ( when speaking to tourists ‘weasel’ seems to be an understood word, but ‘stoats’ not – so if you say ‘an animal like a weasel’, they mostly understand ), and that it is banned in many parts of the world, and that it is poisoning our land and we can no longer eat our wild food and that we have been dropping it for over 60 years and that we have had rats for 700 years and stoats for 150 and, and, and…..
Shane Wilson‘s ‘1080 drum’ with a roadkill possum doe that he came across en route, on top – beautiful fur, freshly killed, and undamaged – a drawcard for curious tourists. I couldn’t stop stroking her. She was all warm in the sun. She had a lucky escape ! She wouldn’t have known a thing, not like the poor possies dying in Makarora in agony right now ! Photo: Carol Sawyer
Shane Wilson’s Dad, Ron ( they had driven four hours from Otautau to be there, setting off at 1.30 am ), and Ray Thompson, ( who had driven for three hours from from Whataroa ). Some anti-1080 people show total passion and dedication. Photo: Carol Sawyer
What surprised me was the intense interest. I was watchful for glazed-over eyes and polite departures but no… the questions poured in and so many people said ” What can we do to help ?!!” An Englishman, who sounded a bit like Prince Charles, was looking at the loadout zone and he said to me ” I hate this sort of thing ! ”
When I was asked how they could help, I said to people: “Take photos of those helicopters. Explain to your friends on social media. Write letters to major NZ newspapers, stating your shock and upset and disbelief at seeing what is happening in a land you regarded as clean and green and 100% pure. Don’t write to the NZ government – the letter will end up in the bin. A letter to a newspaper, from an international visitor”, I said, “is worth more than 100 letters from New Zealanders”
So many said ” But we thought you were clean, green… “
I told them about the film “Poisoning Paradise”. I told them to look it up on Google. I said it had won four international film festival awards and it has not been allowed to be shown on National TV in NZ.
I told them to go to the websites and Facebook pages on the flier I gave them.
I know some of them will – they were truly SHOCKED !
What is the matter with you, Maggie Barry and the Dept of Conservation? How dare you drop 1080 poison in our rivers and not tell tourists NOT to drink the water – only one hour later !!!!!!! NO signs, NO staff, NO care !
“Animal Control Products” ( recently given the more obscure name “Orillion” ), the NZ state-owned factory, has a 1080 warning label which states ” Avoid pollution of any water supply with pellets” and states that the pellets are harmful to aquatic organisms.
“1080 … falls within the category of Highly Hazardous Pesticides for which the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is seeking a global phase out”
In April 2010 Dr Meriel Watts from the Pesticide Action Network NZ (PANANZ) wrote to Environment Waikato regarding 10-20 year consents for the dispersal of 1080 poison. At the grafboysblogspot.com her letter is recorded …
“As you are no doubt aware,” she wrote … “1080 is classed by the World Health Organisation as an Extremely Hazardous pesticide (Class 1a WHO). You may not be aware that as such it falls within the category of Highly Hazardous Pesticides for which the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is seeking a global phase out.
That Environment Waikato is contemplating 10 or 20 year consents to use, let alone aerially disperse, 1080, when a UN agency is promoting a global phase out of all such pesticides is extraordinary. I can only assume that you officers are not aware of the situation.
To issue consents of 10 or more years duration also flies in the face of ERMA’s concern about such on-going widespread dispersal of 1080 in the environment, and their support for more research into alternatives. There will be no room for introduction of alternatives in the EW region if these consents are granted.
1080 is a broad-spectrum poison: it kills all oxygen-breathing animals and organisms. This alone is reason enough to cease dispersing it into the environment. It indiscriminately kills and contaminates everything from the insects that underpin the native fauna food chain to precious native birds, dogs and farm animals.
There are so many recorded instances that there is no need to elaborate on them here. Nor the fact that the suffering of these animals on the way to death is extremely inhumane.
That New Zealand has such a history of poisoning its indigenous species, livestock and companion animals is a shame we have to live with. But we do not need to perpetuate it. Thankfully the era of poisoning everything we don’t like is passing, and intelligent new, targeted approaches to pest management are taking its place.
It is time now for Environment Waikato to move forward with the rest of the world, and introduce alternatives. Trapping has been shown to be an effective method of controlling possums, at the same time utilising a valuable resource for the benefit of the national economy, and trapping technology is continually improving. On the other hand, years of experience of 1080 dispersal has shown that this approach is not sustainable, it has to be repeated at regular intervals, each time with its negative consequences for theenvironment.
Pesticide Action Network therefore urges you to reject the idea of extended resource consents for aerial dispersal of 1080, and to instead focus your resources on rapid introduction of sustainable, environmentally friendly, and socially supportive alternatives such as trapping.
Yet still NZ advertises itself as clean and green. How far from clean and green can a country get one would have ask? All that aside from the cruel death these animals die. It is a slow agonizing death. If you can stomach watching, see what happens to them in this clip from the Poisoning Paradise doco by the Graf Boys. Why are these authorities not charged for cruelty to animals?
Our 1080 pagesalso provide info & links … search ‘categories’ for related articles. Follow our blog or if you’re on FB follow our page and stay informed … use the share buttons to help spread the word on all the untruths we have been told – we are about exposing corruption and lies!
On 10 Feb we reported on the intended spread of 1080 over Kahurangi National Park in the South Island amid mainstream media silence. The Grey Star newspaper was the only newspaper we are aware of, to publish on it. We’ve encountered denials on various forums and alternative news sites this week, however reliable sources on the ground in the area confirmed for us on the 10th February of the pre-feed drop as actually happening. Mainstream, say locals, has been strangely silent on the event, although on the 15th February Stuff finally reported on the pre feed drop. This drop is the one that is poison free and accustoms the animals to eating the bait. The poisoned bait will follow.
A pre-feed drop accustoms the animals to eating the bait before the 1080 poisoned drop occurs
We were also informed that locals, to their very great credit, declined accommodation for DOC workers doing the pre-feed drop, forgoing a sizeable sum of money. These people are putting their money where their mouth is. Amidst local rumors whether or not the drop was happening, on the night of the 14th two big hoppers were seen on the back of a truck heading south toward Anatori.
This morning (17th February) several trucks and other vehicles were seen returning from Turimawiwi area just north of Kahurangi Lighthouse. They were obviously part of the drop it was said, as evident by the equipment they had on board. They had picked up a tramper who had been down at the lighthouse and saw no less than five choppers spraying the area. The tramper had had to flee from his trip to the light house because 1080 pellets were being dropped both north and south of this favorite tramping spot. The tramper was on holiday from Wellington, and appalled to have seen no notification of the drop.
Pre-feed drop or not, there should have been some notification for the public.
This is UNACCEPTABLE!!
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It appears that the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking accommodation for up to 30 people in the Kahurangi NP area for the first weekend of March.
1080 kills all oxygen-breathing animals and organisms
A pertinent reminder here:
1080 is a broad-spectrum poison: it kills all oxygen-breathing animals and organisms
1080 is a broad-spectrum poison: it kills all oxygen-breathing animals and organisms. This alone is reason enough to cease dispersing it into the environment. It indiscriminately kills and contaminates everything from the insects that underpin the native fauna food chain to precious native birds, dogs and farm animals. Dr Meriel Watts, PANANZ
Deer, farm animals and pets are all victims of 1080 poison, it is not selective in its kill range
And in the meantime, the Otago Daily Times reported on the 16th February on the Makarora Valley 1080 operation near Wanaka with concerns about the presence of many tourists still in the bush.
There have been recent reports of 1080 pellets dropping randomly on the unsuspecting. Here is one. And another here.
Concern for trampers in pest operation
“The Department of Conservation has started its Battle for our Birds aerial pest control operation in the Makarora Valley near Wanaka but there are concerns about the apparent high numbers of trampers still in the area.
Doc Central Otago operations manager Mike Tubbs said the operation would begin today with a pre-feed of non-toxic cereal pellets dropped by helicopters over the Makarora valley and its tributaries, the Fish, Blue, Young, Cameron, Wilkin and Siberia Valleys.
Makarora Tourist Centre Director Rhondda Osmers said she wrote to Doc expressing her concerns about the number of vehicles parked in the trampers’ car park yesterday, at Makarora. READ MORE
See also our 1080 pagesfor info & links, &/or search ‘categories’ drop down box for further related articles (at left of any page).
Like our FB page or follow our blog and stay informed … use the share buttons to help spread the word on all the untruths we have been told – we are about exposing corruption and lies!
As is the custom of sold-out NZ media, there’s been little if any mention of this intended drop of deadly 1080 tomorrow anywhere. The lure baits have already been dropped today (13th Feb 17) to get our wildlife eating and trusting, while tomorrow they will be munching on genuine deadly 1080, courtesy of Mt Hutt Helicopters. For more information on NZ’s shameful consumption of 1080 (largest consumer in the world) that is banned in most other countries visit our 1080 pages. Particularly, watch the Poisoning Paradise doco by NZ’s local Graf brothers, links are there on the page. (For other articles and links on 1080 and how effective it appears to have been in destroying our birdlife, our wild deer, unsuspecting pets and even farm animals, go here). It has even been dropped directly into our waterways.
NOTE: see further down for an update, the drop is to start on the 15th.
Remember too to name and shame the contractors who drop this poison. It has to stop.
1080 pellets have been found by the public on public walking tracks and seating
Here is the information from the one newspaper that has published the info, greystar.co.nz :
Massive 1080 drop about to start
By Laura Mills
The largest 1080 poisoning operation in New Zealand conservation history is about to get under way in northern Buller and Tasman.
The Department of Conservation is planning to carry out aerial 1080 pest control over about 270,000 ha of the Kahurangi National Park this spring as part of its Battle for Our Birds predator control programme to protect native species from a plague of rats and stoats.
It was met with protests outside DOC’s Takaka office this week.
The cost of the aerial drop was about $4.3 million, DOC spokeswoman Fiona Oliphant said.
It is the largest area in DOC’s Battle for Our Birds predator control programme, and has been broken up into six operational blocks of between about 20,000 and 60,000ha.
The Kahurangi operation is one of 25 confirmed Battle for Our Birds operations using aerially-applied 1080 poison over about 680,000ha of conservation land to knock down rising predator numbers fuelled by the unusually heavy seeding in South Island beech forests.
Six operations have been completed. The largest operational block completed to date is 30,000ha at Waitutu forest, in Southland.
DOC Motueka conservation services manager Mark Townsend said it was estimated that without pest control, rat tracking levels would reach 100% in November in parts of Kahurangi National Park.
Rat tracking levels increased from 54% in May to 90% in August in the Fyfe River area, from 31% to 51% in the Cobb Valley, from 43% to 78% in the Waingaro River area, and from 34% to 63% in the Oparara Basin, at Karamea.
“We are particularly concerned to safeguard threatened populations of whio, great spotted kiwi, kea, kaka, rock wren, long-tailed bats and powelliphanta snails.”
The drop includes the Wangapeka-Upper Karamea. Aerial drops are planned over 45,000ha in the Fyfe, Owen, Wangapeka, Crow and upper Karamea catchments in south-eastern Kahurangi National Park. An aerial operation was last carried out in the Wangapeka catchment in 2011.
DOC said yesterday this was its largest poison operation and it was checking to see if it was larger than previous Animal Health Board poisonings.
Notification of commencement of aerial application of non toxic cereal prefeed pellets at Parapara
On behalf of OSPRI New Zealand and the Department of Conservation, Vector Control Services wish to advise that helicopters will begin the aerial application of non toxic cereal prefeed pellets to the Parapara treatment area as part of DOC’s 2016 “Battle for our Birds” beech mast response. The operation will commence from first light on 15 February 2017 If you have any queries please contact VCS on 03 768 9674.
Vector Control Services
An excellent and informative video where experts (two Medical Doctors & an expert in Rongoa – Maori medicinal plants) are discussing the effects of chemicals, particularly 1080 in our environment and its uptake by plants. As you will see there has been little research to cover many areas of risk. By the Graf Boys this is important information to have. Bearing in mind the authorities are telling us it’s safe as houses, educate yourself and make an informed decision yourself. Gone are the days of believing the official word … that word is now corporately controlled and profits a priority. These three men share some very interesting information. EWR
Dr Peter Scanlon and Dr Sean Weaver (Environmental studies – Victoria University) discuss the low-dose effects of 1080 poison. Jim Doherty discusses the effects of 1080 poison on rongoa plants (maori medicinal plants) …
If you are new to the 1080 poisoning program, here is a good article to start with …
A must watch also is Poisoning Paradise, the doco made by the GrafBoys (banned from screening on NZ TV, yet a 4x international award winner). Their website is tv-wild.com. Their doco is a very comprehensive overview with the independent science to illustrate the question marks that remain over the use of this poison. There are links also on our 1080 resources page to most of the groups, pages, sites etc that will provide you with further information.
Check out the 1080 pages at the main menu, particularly the sub tab, ‘suspected 1080 poisoning cases’. Finally, remember what the retired MD Charlie Baycroft said recently …‘if you die from 1080 poisoning, nobody will know because the Ministry of Health is bullying NZ Doctors into not testing for 1080′.
Note we don’t condone or advocate violence, & unlike those who support the use of 1080 poison we do not support cruelty to animals. Note it can take up to two days for animals to die an agonizing death from 1080. Now that is violence.
This is becoming a regular occurrence going by similar other reports & posts we’ve featured here. Poisoning Paradise would be correct (see Graf Boys’ video of that name). Still our deluded leaders continue to promote us as clean and green. LGNZ is currently advertising a handy app to make it easy for you to see which of the 40% that’s left of swimmable rivers is ok for you to take a dip in. Whatever way you look at it somebody manages to make a dollar or two out of the whole farcical debacle. This product (1080) is a deadly poison! All I can conclude here is take care folks if you plan tramping in the bush this holiday. Watch also what you catch and eat. Check out our 1080 page for links to further info. EnvirowatchRangitikei
“It was like big hail drops hitting the water around us,” said New Zealand trout fishing guide Scott Murray who is a co-owner of River Haven Lodge near Murchison.
It was no ordinary hail storm. The ‘big hail drops’ were toxic 1080 pellets.
The 1080 drop was a joint effort by Ospri for possum “control” and the Department of Conservation’s “Battle for Our Birds” predator control programme. It was December 2, 2016 when Scott and his two guests helicoptered into the Mokihinui River that enters the Tasman Sea north of Westport on the west coast of NZ’s South Island. The upper reaches in the river’s north and south branches are of wilderness character. Also in the area the same day was Zane Mirfin a Nelson guide and two guests. Zane Mirfin’s Californian client was incredulous when Zane explained what the aerial bombardment with 1080 pellets was about.
It just gets sillier doesn’t it? Reminds me of the pregnant woman recently who declined the TDAP vaccination … whose Doctor had never read the insert saying it had neither been tested for the unborn nor proven safe for under 10 year olds ! The astute young mother demanded to see the insert then read it out slowly to her Doc and his nursing staff. The Doc was very shocked as indeed he should be with the fees he charges and the lives he’s trusted with protecting.
DOC warns 1080 is DEADLY to dogs
Similar scenario here. They’re recommending you can eat 1080 while the manufacturer warns quite clearly to wear goggles and a mask while handling it … ‘may cause reproductive or developmental damage’. They don’t always though (wear protective apparatus). See the workers in the video further down. And DOC (those people entrusted with protecting our wildlife among other things) write on their signs, ‘deadly to dogs’.
Monsanto Herbicide sprayed on food crops [Photo from USDA via Wikimedia Commons via Mintpressnews]
Hmmm. Same again as the glyphosate debacle, the product that we’re told is drinkable. Harmless as dishwash liquid farmers were told back in the 1970s when they first sold it to them. (Same people who made DDT and Agent Orange and told us it was safe). And have you seen the employees handling the product? Full overalls, gloves and masks (at least if you’re not in a Third World country … they’re poisoned there … by Western corporations, with impunity). If you doubt this read ‘The Corporate Crime of the Century’.
They spray it on your food. You know, the GE variety that’s so safe there’s no need to label it? Just how gullible can people be? The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies 1080 as ‘Extremely Hazardous’, most countries ban it outright. DOC’s signs certainly don’t indicate it’s safe as crisps. ‘Do not touch’ let alone eat. WHO also labeled glyphosate as being a probable carcinogen … for a while at least … until corporate persuasion convinced them Prof Séralani’s rats would’ve probably got cancerous tumours anyway.
Toxic Roundup (containing glyphosate) is sprayed on GE crops [Photo credit: Wikimedia]
What else would you expect? This from the same scientific/corporate club that told us smoking was good for us! Good for corporate pockets would be more to the point. If it weren’t so serious it would be laughable. Crisps with your ciggies anybody? (Do watch the video & research 1080 for yourself … check out our 1080 pages for links to what mainstream media isn’t telling you … under ‘Chemicals’ on the menu). EnvirowatchRangitikei
Here is an article from 2007, and the drops continue, in spite of the clear scientific evidence it is not beneficial to our ecosystem. One has to ask, what, aside from profits, is their agenda?
“We have audited Department of Conservation scientific research and produced an 88-page monograph reviewing more than 100 scientific papers.
The results are startling and belie most of the department’s claims.
First, there is no credible scientific evidence showing that any species of native bird benefits from the dropping of tonnes of 1080 into our forest ecosystems
Second, considerable evidence exists that DoC’s aerial 1080 operations are doing serious harm” Quinn and Patricia Whiting-O’Keefe
Scientists, Quinn and Patricia Whiting-O’Keefe: “Poison facts belie the claims”
NZ drops into its forests about 4,000 kg of pure 1080 per year, enough to kill 20 million people
There is now a familiar litany of scientifically insupportable claims about what great things aerial 1080, a universal poison, is doing for our forest ecosystems. The people of New Zealand have a right to know the truth about what the scientific evidence shows.
We have audited Department of Conservation scientific research and produced an 88-page monograph reviewing more than 100 scientific papers.
The results are startling and belie most of the department’s claims.
The oxymoron that DOC’s signage is
First, there is no credible scientific evidence showing that any species of native bird benefits from the dropping of tonnes of 1080 into our forest ecosystems, as claimed by the department and Kevin Hackwell. There is certainly no evidence of net ecosystem benefit.
1080 is killing large numbers of native species
We have repeatedly challenged DoC and Mr Hackwell, a representative of the Forest and Bird Society, to come forward with the hard scientific evidence for their “dead forest” claims. They have not.
Second, considerable evidence exists that DoC’s aerial 1080 operations are doing serious harm, as one would expect, given that 1080 is toxic to all animals. It kills large numbers of native species of birds, invertebrates and bats.
Moreover, most native species are completely unstudied. In addition considerable evidence shows there are chronic and sublethal effects to vertebrate endocrine and reproductive systems, possibly including those of humans.
Considerable evidence demonstrates that DOC’s aerial 1080 operations are doing serious harm
Third, DoC claims that one can drop food laced with 1080, a universal poison (World Health Organisation classification “1A extremely hazardous”) indiscriminately into a semi-tropical forest ecosystem and only negatively affect one or two target “pest” species. That is counterintuitive and scientifically improbable.
Fourth, as far as we can determine no other country in the world is doing (or has ever done) anything remotely similar – mass poisoning of a semi-tropical ecosystem on the scale that the department is now doing to ours.
Fifth, and perhaps most disturbing, is that what the department-sponsored research shows has been habitually misrepresented – entirely unjustifiable assertions regarding 1080’s benefits and lack of harm.
Statements like those of Mr Hackwell that the forests will be “dead” without poisoning them with 1080, and from John McLennan (Landcare Research) and Al Morrison (Director General of DoC) that 1080 is existentially necessary to Kiwis is pure demagoguery and scientific nonsense.
What is at risk by continuation of this extraordinary practice – and it is unique in the world – is the ecological integrity of our forest ecosystems, our reputation as an environmentally sane and responsible country, and our existence as a society in which reason and rationality can triumph over bureaucratic prerogative and budgetary gain.
Since Galileo Galilee first discovered the moons of Jupiter in the 17th century, the way to resolve this kind of disagreement has been to do the experiment and examine the evidence, and that is precisely what we urge everyone to do.
Don’t believe DoC. Don’t believe Mr Hackwell. Don’t believe us – believe the evidence. To that end we will provide a copy of our report and the source scientific research papers to all who would like to read them.
* Quinn and Patricia Whiting-O’Keefe are retired scientists.
The world is not as it used to be, as many of my own generation are generally concluding. This kind of ruling against off grid living is becoming more commonplace & in spite of the authorities saying they are not trying “to drive people off their properties” … that is not how it is appearing. Looking at the bigger picture and the other anomalies we see … it is becoming a ‘crime’ to give to the homeless, the hungry … a ‘crime’ to even be homeless in spite of the fact the failing economic system has made them that way (witness the tent cities springing up in many places). Rules around collecting rainwater off your roof for heaven’s sakes … the powers that be figure they own the water … witness Nestlé’s claim that water is NOT a fundamental human right (except for themselves & the like who bottle it and sell it for obscene profit, yes even in NZ) … rules around passing your surplus vegetables over the back fence to your neighbours or selling them at the gate … all being increasingly restricted, even in NZ (the Food Bill ... read the fine print plus see where it is headed) ... rules around where you can camp, it’s becoming less possible to simply pull over anywhere in your camper van. Another issue coming to light more and more is the poisoning of our wild food with the indiscriminate slathering of 1080 and other poisons throughout our wilderness places.
Wild food sources in NZ are becoming inedible now with the prolific spreading of 1080 poison in our wilderness and even not so wilderness places, all with Government’s blessing
Basically our freedoms have been eroded, in very tiny increments, over a very long time. Tiny enough that initially they weren’t so noticeable. (Like the frog in warm water analogy … water that is set to eventually boil & cook its contents). Today, they are flashing at us like neon lights. The illegality of feeding homeless people goes totally against the grain of all that is human and compassionate and is not what people want. It certainly isn’t what Kiwis want.
Time to stand up Kiwis and fight for what is right. Speak up and let the authorities know you are not okay with it. Your silence is taken as consent. EnvirowatchRangitikei
‘Camping’ on Your Own Land is Now Illegal — Govt Waging War on Off-Grid Living
Costilla County, CO — Across the U.S., local zoning officials are making it increasingly difficult for people to go off the grid, in some instances threatening people with jail time for collecting rainwater or not hooking into local utilities.
As zoning laws have increasingly targeted the off-grid lifestyle, many have moved to the Southwestern U.S. as an escape from overzealous zoning officials.
In Costilla County, Colorado, there has been a major influx of off-grid residents to the San Luis Valley. The combination of lax zoning regulations, cheap property, and an already thriving community of self-reliant off-grid homesteaders has led to many new residents.
The off-grid lifestyle, enjoyed by an estimated 800 people, is now being threatened as county officials have recently made moves to essentially regulate and license the lifestyle into oblivion.
Tensions boiled over during a county commissioners’ meeting in San Louis, Colorado, devolving into a shouting match between homesteaders and police. One of the major points of contention is the county’s attempt to ban camping on your own property, in an effort to force the off-grid homesteaders back onto the grid. Read more athttp://thefreethoughtproject.com/camping-land-illegal-homesteading-regulated-existence/#9KxsHfpHTALvpiz1.99
Educate yourself on Agenda 21 and 2030, the UN plan for sustainable development that has very hidden agendas … and is playing out in our District Councils right now.
This is a clip from the Graf Boys. They highlight some disturbing data concerning the way the agencies mandated with the task of protecting us are failing to deliver. Badly. No studies done, yet DOC, in contravention of their own product’s recommendations are dropping 1080 into drinking supply water without notifying the consumers of that water. Visit our 1080 page for links to information to educate and protect yourself. Your authorities are not going to. They (the NZ Government/Corporation) is producing the stuff… EnvirowatchRangitikei
[Photo credit: from thegrafboys’ video clip below]
Studies show that 1080 can cause foetal skeletal malformation, cardiomyopathy/damage to heart muscle, and testicular effects/reduction in sperm count in animals.
To date there are no known epidemiological studies that have been carried out in relation to 1080 and potential adverse health effects on humans.
The Hawkes Bay, and Waikato District Health Boards respond to concerns raised by families exposed to 1080 poison, and animal carcasses in waterways …
Erratum: At 2 minutes 54 seconds into the video the word ‘milligrams’ is used erroneously. The correct word is ‘micrograms’.
Sign up for notifications at the GrafBoys channel. See links to their site and further info at our website’s 1080 page.
See also 1080science.co.nz for accurate, independent information on 1080.
“Aerial application of 1080 poison is banned in the U.S. due to the extreme hazard to human health and to the environment.”
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
From safe.org.nz
“There’s controversy In Paradise. New Zealand is proud of its clean, green and pure image. However the use of 1080 poisoning as the main weapon in the war against animals regarded as ‘pests’ is controversial.
A cruel and indiscriminate poison, 1080 is used to kill unwanted animals which include possums, feral cats, rabbits, rats and stoats. Its use in New Zealand has been a contentious issue since it was first employed as a pesticide in 1954. Research has shown that the use of this poison is extremely cruel, and dangerous to non-target animals.”
Find out more about the extensive use of 1080 in New Zealand, including:
For over 15 years the New Zealand Government has been systematically dropping massive amounts of food, laced with a cruel and universally toxic poison into its forest ecosystems. Enough poison every year to kill the entire population of NZ four times over. No other country is doing, or ever has done, anything remotely similar on such a scale.
This weekend peaceful protesters NZ wide took to the streets to let the Government know they are not impressed with this slathering of our paradise with toxic poison. They want it to STOP.
Note: If you have any instances of 1080 poisoning of livestock or of being required to cover up details, contact me at the contact page and I will direct you to a person who is considering taking legal action. Or simply go to 1080 Eyewitness on FB for the post. You would need to join.
[These images are from the FB page 1080 Eyewitness. If your photo is on here & you do not want it to be please contact me & I will take it down.]
Today NZ wide Kiwis who are concerned about this toxic poisoning of our once clean green paradise, are protesting (peacefully) to draw attention to this vital issue! See the fresh water crays pulling those pellets away to eat? They are now inedible but who would know? Educate yourself on 1080 it is not what we are led to believe. EnvirowatchRangitikei
On the 22nd of August, 2014, 32,000 kilos of 1080 poison bait was cast across Mt Pirongia, near Hamilton. It was enough poison to kill 240,000 people, almost twice the population of Hamilton…
A previous 2007 drop across the mountain was “hailed a success” by Waikato Regional Council, despite farmers raising concern about contamination, including to drinking water.
The New Zealand manufacturer’s (owned by NZ Govt) 1080 poison label includes the following warnings –
“Ecotoxic”,
“Toxic to terrestrial vertebrates.”
“Take measures to reduce of non-target animals being exposed to the toxin either through eating the baits or by scavenging the carcasses of poisoned animals.”
“Harmful to aquatic organisms.”
“Take all practicable steps to manage any harmful effects of a spillage including preventing baits from accidentally entering streams or waterways.”
“This product is toxic to wildlife. Birds and mammals feeding on carcasses of contaminated animals may be fatally poisoned.”
“Where practicable, the exposed bodies of all poisoned animals should be collected and destroyed by complete burning or deep burial in a landfill approved for hazardous substances. Dehydrated carcasses may remain dangerous to dogs or cats for an indefinite period. A single mouse poisoned by 1080 may contain enough poison to kill an adult dog.”
“Take measures to minimise the chance of baits accidentally entering any body of water.”
And … “Apply the product only as specified by label directions.” …
Flight charts released by the Department of Conservation reveal that 1080 poison was dropped directly into most streams and catchments, including to eight of the nine known water abstraction points. Poisoned carcasses have been left to rot in the streams, and animal welfare concerns have been raised. The Department of Conservation Mt Pirongia aerial drop, breached or ignored all of these warnings …
See also our 1080 pagesfor info & links, &/or search ‘categories’ drop down box for further related articles (at left of any page).
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