From Sue Grey, LLB(Hons), BSc (Biochemistry and Microbiology), RSH Dip PHI
A few questions we need to be asking …
“I wonder if even one MP asked why DoC staff feel so threatened that they need $11 million of public money to protect their staff against the NZ public they are supposed to represent when New Zealanders generally love the Outdoors?
I wonder why they went ahead anyway and gave them more of our money to build more barriers between us, and more money to spread yet more poison – despite all the evidence of cruelty, breaches of the Wildlife and Animal Welfare Act and that it is not achieving their stated objective? If poison is the answer, surely we are asking the wrong question. .
There is much more in terms of outcome to this item posted at the Save Raukumara from 1080 FB page which you can read if you are a member of FB. I will endeavor to post the remainder later but for now, what struck me most about this news item from 2000, was that DoC handed this land over knowing full well they had buried a Class 1A Ecotoxin in the form of 1080 pellets only 6 feet down and refrained from informing the new owner.
Let that sink in for a bit & perhaps ponder on the dishonesty of this corporation that has the mandate for CONSERVING your environment. This is an oxmoron.
This of course is the way of corporations. Profits first & people & environments not even second if you watch ‘The Corporation’ doco (on YT) that is well illustrated … and let’s not forget our former govt depts are corporations now. Many have missed that important feature of our recent history.
And you have to wonder how many more lots of 1080 are buried all over NZ including landfills, considering it is the world’s largest consumer of this deadly product that was once added to water to kill ship rats and is extremely difficult to detect if you are poisoned by it. In fact your government doesn’t want you to detect it according to recent information by a retired MD.
EWR.
Greymouth Evening Star 28 July 2000 (posted at the Save Raukumara from 1080 FB page).
This is truly disturbing, especially on the heels of a recent post on topic and the revelations from the Taupo area where a hunter reports the same after SIXTY PLUS YEARS of 1080 treatment. The poison simply is not working, and worse it is decimating our native birds. Kea are nearing extinction (here also) and remember this post also about the 10K birds killed in one drop? When is this madness going to be looked at with independent eyes, independent research and an eye for alternatives. They are aerially treating areas that could be easily trapped while saying they only aerially treat inaccessible places.
Note: this post since published has had 40K shares on FB (14K initially in one week … at which point the pro poisoners were responding with comments it is not true. The person who provided the info is 100% bonafide & reliable I can assure you). The truth is coming out. I encourage you, if you have similar ‘silent’ stories do contact me using the contact form…. the accumulation of other sightings provides more evidence that 1080 is not conserving our natives & is also killing our non natives. This is by design of course although DoC is not outright telling us that. The plan is to totally eliminate all non natives, part of the UN biodiversity goals.
The Makarora area of Mt Aspiring National Park was aerially 1080-poisoned on 15 October, 2019 – the Wilkin, Fish, Blue, Cameron, Makarora and Young Valleys.
Yesterday I was told that the old six-bunk forestry hut at Top Forks, Wilkin River Valley, is being restored, and the workers restoring it are living there while it is restored. They say there is absolutely nothing left alive up there. It is as silent as the grave…. no birds, no insects, NOTHING !
Extraordinarily, even though the area was poisoned only two weeks ago there are NO warning signs on any of the DoC online track information on the Young Valley Track, Cameron Valley Track, Blue-Young Valley Track, etc! There will be dead carcasses and baits in the streams and rivers. Innocent tourist trampers from overseas will drink from the streams.
VIDEO: “Once the rats have gone down to negligible numbers” says Maggie Barrie, (former Min of Conservation) “then we’ll use traps” … ? Um…. 60 years on and still we have rats? It isn’t working Maggie. A blind person could see that. We still have rats and our native Kea are nearly extinct. Perhaps the Dept of Conservation would be better named the Dept of Destruction.
Hunter, Harvey Karaitiana, interviewed in the video says he came across 1080 by accident in the 1950s when he saw small fixed wing aircraft spreading something in the Wainui bush near Taupō. Upon investigation he saw green stuff all over the ground. Days afterwards he found dead birds and animals in the bush. Remember this is a Class 1A Ecotoxin that kills all oxygen breathing life including humans, and it appears the public had no warning on the drop! Mr Karaitiana wrote to the local newspaper at the time expressing his concerns.
Note: Mr Karaitiana says they are still treating the same land with 1080, and reports that whereas once he would hear Morepork and other birds in the area, he no longer does. They are all gone he says. Department of Conservation? Really?
The poison 1080, to our Māori people he said, is one of the most deadly poisons out that we know of.
And DoC by the way declined to be interviewed.
To watch the video click on the link below the image:
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.
BUFFER ZONES ROUND LAKES, RIVERS AND STREAMS NO LONGER A REQUIREMENT AT 1080 POISON DROPS
By Carol Sawyer
Someone has just asked me if having GPS in a helicopter means 1080 poison baits do not need to be dropped into waterways – i.e.that streams and waterways could be avoided.
Well, yes, but ag pilots tell me, and Murray Dench also explains this quite well in the post below) that, even with GPS, bait-dropping can only be accurate with some certainty to within a minimum of 200 metres, and even then, so-called ” overflies” happen (i.e. baits land outside the drop zone).
A good example of an “overfly” was the Kepler Mountains drop at Lake Manapouri in Spring 2016 when a 200 ha area outside the drop zone was covered in 1080 baits by HeliOtago.
(Even though protestors were initially blamed for this, HeliOtago later admitted the cause was that their pilots were under pressure to finish the job).
However the new government rules are that NO stream or waterway needs to be avoided by helicopters dropping 1080 poison, so the question of GPS accuracy and bait-dropping is somewhat academic!
Even when buffer zones are set around waterways, they tend to be woefully inadequate. In Febuary 2017, at the 1080 poison drop at Makarora, a 20 metre buffer zone was applied to the Makarora and Wilkin Rivers, yet baits were found in these rivers after the poison drop.
Below is Murray Dench’s report:
DROPPING 1080 POISON FROM THE SKY IS NOT AN ACCURATE PROCESS
In 2007, following the ERMA Review, Murray Dench wrote to Andrea Eng, General Manager Hazardous Substances, ERMA on Differential Global Positioning Systems with regard to dropping 1080 baits. What he wrote is very interesting. Here it is :
“The distribution of the baits from a helicopter is far from certain. While DGPS has allowed more accurate placement of the aircraft there are other factors involved :-
1. The groundspeed of the machine during the delivery run.
Over level terrain this is quite easily controlled but over steep terrain (where the helicopter is most ‘useful’) every act of climbing and descending to match the contour changes the ground speed.
This is difficult to control because the pilot (if he’s smart) will be concentrating on terrain avoidance and personal welfare to the detriment of accurate groundspeed monitoring.
Another negative factor is wind speed and its degree of crosswind (or even tail wind) component. Again, in level terrain the crosswind component is relatively constant and can be allowed for but in broken country wind changes are legendary including lift, lee turbulence, rotor action, and a raft of others which sensible pilots do their best to avoid.
The changing wind speeds and directions rapidly change the aircrafts airspeed indication for which the pilot must compensate to maintain the target groundspeed. It also rapidly changes the aircraft direction of travel and rate of climb which has to be constantly corrected. When you combine terrain avoidance with constant altitude changes and violently changing wind speed and direction it is not hard to see that accurate distribution of baits is not likely.
2. The height of the machine above the ground during the delivery run.
It is assumed that the hopper delivery system is designed to produce a certain pattern on the ground when delivered from a certain height. If the delivery is from a lesser height then the pattern will not have reached its full dimension and a narrow strip of high bait concentration will be laid. If the delivery is from a greater height than the target then the delivery pattern may be wider with reduced bait density. If delivery from the ideal height results in the baits falling vertically downwards then distribution from a greater height is okay except that the baits are longer in the air and are therefore more susceptible to wind currents moving them out of the intended delivery zone. Trying to maintain an accurate height above ground in steep and broken country while trying to maintain groundspeed and avoid terrain creates a scenario ripe for failure.
3. Accurate delivery relies on the baits exiting the hopper and dropping onto the spinning distribution disc at a constant rate.
This is highly unlikely. The greater the head (weight) of baits in the hopper the greater is the pressure available to push the bottom baits out. As the hopper level reduces the pressure reduces and so the flow of baits also reduces. It is possible that there is some compensation for this negative affect provided by the reducing friction losses against the hopper walls as the hopper level falls but given slippery carrots and free flowing cereal baits it is hard to imagine this mitigation being enough. It is a pretty safe bet that the distribution density of baits at the start of a run is greater than at the end.
4. Overlap.
If a circle of material is continuously dropped while in motion then the path along the centre line of the circle will receive twice as much material as the edges. This is because the material which is thrown forward is added to by the material which is thrown backwards over exactly the same path whereas the material thrown to the extreme edges cannot be duplicated. This provides a distribution pattern with the highest concentration along the centreline of the direction of travel gradually reducing to the minimum distribution density along both edges. It is not possible to produce an even distribution density from a moving 360° rotating disc. It is assumed the applicators mitigate against this effect by overlapping each delivery run so the low distribution density strips along the edges are ‘double dosed’ to achieve the target density.
Again it is assumed this need to overlap is programmed into the tracks to be flown under GPS guidance but is another error inherent in the entire delivery system.
Unintended by-kill is closely correlated with bait distribution.
Having a DGPS in the cockpit of the delivery aircraft is certainly a help but many other factors need assessment and controls added to improve the chance of accurate delivery. ERMA failed to investigate and understand the variables associated with bait delivery and how poor distribution might easily result and instead nominated DGPS as a ‘cure all’ which it cannot be.”
Look closely at the photo above in the header image and you will see baits flying in all directions. This helicopter is low to the bush. Imagine that same helicopter at height and you can start to realize the inaccuracy of a bait drop.
Lawyer, Sue Grey testifies to a number of unlawful acts of the crown and its contractors who have been aerially spreading deadly poison, called 1080, on DOC land, Maori Land and private land. Sue and her team has identified over 10 possible legal challenges involving apparent criminal or civil breaches of statutory obligations by DoC, OSPRI and/or poison contractors. Sue Grey testified on June 23, 2019 before the ITNJ Commission of Inquiry into Weaponisation of the Biosphere. Watch all the Indonesia Seatings at https://commission.itnj.org Help continue this work and expose the next phase of expert witness testimonies. http://www.itnj.org
“Sue Grey Testimony on New Zealand’s Ecocide with the use of 1080 Poison
The ITNJ opens its Commission of Inquiry into the Weaponisation of the Biosphere with stunning testimony from New Zealand expert witness Sue Grey, in what she describes as ‘ecocide’ and ‘a war on nature’.
A lawyer and activist with multiple science degrees and over 30 years’ experience in environmental health policy, Sue testifies to the devastation being caused to New Zealand’s native wildlife and ecosystems through the systematic and widespread aerial poisoning with the chemical Sodium Fluoroacetate, commonly known as “1080” Poison.
Four hundred million 1080 pellets (enough to kill over a hundred million people) will be spread by helicopter this year over much of the country’s land and waterways, in a longstanding Crown sponsored program, its stated purpose: to preserve native wildlife by eradicating non-native stoats and rats. However, the cereal baits attract many other species of insects, birds, and mammals, contaminating the food chain and cruelly killing thousands of “non-target” species including deer, farmed stock and dogs. There has been a drastic impact on Kea (native parrots) and cereal baits are known to poison many other species of native bird including iconic Kiwi and Weka.
Birds and animals can be poisoned by eating the bait directly, drinking from poisoned waterways, or by feeding on the carcasses of poisoned animals. Evidence also exists that 1080 has made it its way up the food chain into wild pork, farmed cows and honey, and is also suspected to have poisoned humans, many of whom Grey has represented.
Despite many years of campaigning, lawsuits, public outcry, and official statistics that prove its catastrophic failure, the New Zealand government refuses to take responsibility and bring an end to the serious threats posed by this program to New Zealand’s ecosystem and its inhabitants.
ABOUT THE ITNJ: The ITNJ is the world’s first people-powered tribunal that operates independently of governments and corporations, and is therefore willing to issue rulings against those organizations based on Natural Law, where agents of governments and/or corporations have caused harm or loss to living men and women, and in this case, matters that relate to the weaponization of our biosphere and the existential ecocide and genocidal threat against humanity.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT: commission.itnj.org CONTACT:press@itnj.org
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ITNJ, PLEASE SEE: www.itnj.org / itnjcommittee.org
FOR PRINT QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHS PLEASE CONTACT: media@itnj.org
Recent information from Animal Control Products Ltd is that DoC buy between 30% and 50% of their 1080 product every year, that OSPRI and regional councils account for another 40%, and (presumably) ZIP and Predator Free NZ account for the rest…. between 10% and 30%.
As DoC have produced maps showing they intend to be covering 1.124 million ha with aerial 1080 this year, at a rate of 1.5 to 2 kgs per ha, and even if they account for a 50% buy-up of the poison, we can safely assume a total of about 4,000 tonnes of 1080 poison baits will be spread on our land this year.
That is 6,000kgs of pure 1080 poison (at the standard 0.15% pure poison per bait rate).. So at an LD50 of 0.5mg per kg bodyweight that means 35mg can kill a 70kg human being. That works out to be theoretically enough 1080 dropped on NZ this year to poison 171,428,571 x 70kg people, with half of them, 85,714,285, having a lethal dose!
LD50 : [ Based on fatal or near-fatal cases of human poisonings, the dangerous dose for humans is 0.5-2.0 mg/kg BW (Negherbon 1959)]
(LD50 stands for Lethal Dose 50 – killing with poison is not an exact science so an LD50 is used, which means that one can assume 50% of the people poisoned will die. It doesn’t mean the other 50% get off scot-free!)
Photo credit: supplied by Carol Sawyer
If you are new to NZ’s 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. Check out also 1080science.co.nz for the independent science.
Department of Conservation reports of a rat explosion in the Northern Ruahine Ranges defy credibility and show the department was “out of its depth” in wilderness management according to a sporting hunters’ organisation.
Laurie Collins spokesman for the Sporting Hunters Conservation Outdoor Trust (SCHOT) said research had shown that following aerial drops of 1080 poison, the 20 percent surviving rats with much reduced food competition exploded in numbers. He cited Ruscoe’s research in 2008 “Interaction of Mammalian Pest Populations following Control” that showed rats recover quickly and increase quickly so within 18 months rat numbers would be two to three times greater than before poisoning operations.
Sadly this is what has happened on more than one occasion in (not) clean green New Zealand. A warning about 1080 poison a Class 1A Ecotoxin that unbelievably NZ authorities claim is not very dangerous: our authorities do not practice the precautionary principle with the spreading of 1080 poison. In fact they are now legally allowed to drop it into your waterways without the previously required consents, even though the manufacturer’s warning says take care not to drop it into the waterways. Whilst they continue to claim it is harmless, there is much independent research that says otherwise. (See 1080science for further independent info). In light of that, in my opinion it is safer to follow the precautionary principle, that is, proceed as if there were a possible risk to your health rather than assume there is none. Since 1080 is a known teratogen I believe it is particularly important for pregnant mothers or even those who think they may be or who could be pregnant, to distance themselves from an area where 1080 is being distributed, particularly aerially because of the drift of the dust over long distances.
So if you are out tramping, visiting from overseas or just an unaware local, you’d be wise to take your own drinking water (don’t use the streams, taps etc) and check very carefully with DoC when making plans to be sure there will be no drop in your vicinity. The signage it appears, is not always there to warn you. (See further notes & info below the Stuff article). EWR
From Stuff
A couple are angry and upset that a holiday weekend tramp through a Pelorus Sound track ended with them being “dusted” with 1080 bait.
Kaiuma Bay couple Simon and Carol Caley have written an open letter of complaint to the minister of conservation, and are also seeking an apology for his department’s “complete and utter failure to protect the public” after pellets were dropped near them from a helicopter on Saturday.
Health and conservation authorities are investigating how toxic 1080 bait was spilled on to the track.
The Nelson Marlborough Public Health Service (PHS) is investigating a breach of a condition under which a Department of Conservation (DOC) 1080 drop was permitted in Pelorus Sound over the weekend.
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′.
JUST ONE “THREAT” FROM ANTI-1080 PEOPLE REPORTED TO NZ POLICE BY DoC IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS!(Someone dressed in a DoC uniform – how is that a threat?)
“We now have an updated OIA response from NZ Police, informing us of how many further reports they have received since October 2018, to the 8th August 2019. Nearly one whole year has passed. How many reports of so-called threats to DoC from anti-1080 activists?
One.
This single incident apparently involved someone dressed up in a DoC uniform, and was dismissed by the Police because it was “not a direct threat to DoC workers”. – No to 1080 Use in NZ
Director-General of the Dept of Conservation, Lou Sanson, would have the public believe that his staff are under enormous threat – from anti-1080 activists in particular – and in May’s Budget the department received an $11 million boost in funding for security:
What Sanson is not taking into account is the effect this scare-mongering is having on his own staff. I have received a report that the family of one female DoC worker is relieved when she arrives home at night unmolested. I am sure this is not an isolated case. He should be ashamed of himself, using this unfounded propaganda to terrify his workers and drum up support for his poisoning regime.
*Ongoing lies from New Zealand’s Dept of Conservation, but our peaceful protests continue.
We have reported in the past year or so about the increasing claims in the media from people like Lou Sanson, Director-General of the DoC and Nicola Toki, DoC’s ‘Threatened Species Ambassador’ that ‘anti-1080 activists are dangerously out of control’, ‘have gone feral’ and even ‘ are repeatedly making death threats to DoC staff’.
On 31st August 2018, we exposed the truth about these lies. We reported the response to an Official Information Act to the New Zealand Police, which asked ‘exactly HOW MANY threats of violence towards DoC staff had been recorded from so-called ‘anti-1080 activists in the past 2 years?’ and perhaps more importantly, ‘how many of these were being upheld?’
The answer, back then, was six. Between March 2016 and March 2018 there were a total of only six reports of threats to NZ Police, of which, ZERO were being progressed to prosecution.
From March up to October 2018, how many MORE threats to DoC were reported to the Police? After all, there was (according to TVNZ in Sept, 2018) a “sharp rise in threats to DoC staff”. Numerous media articles attempted to alarm the public about the ‘dangers’ of ‘anti-1080 activists’. The commencement of a costly contract with the private security firm, Thompson and Clark (April 2018) added to the perceived seriousness of the situation. Journalists like Tom O’Connor wrote opinion pieces with headlines like ‘ Anti-1080 protesters’ threats to human life inexcusable’. But where is the evidence that should support these claims?
OIA responses confirmed that between March to October 2018 there had been THREE so-called threats reported to Police. The same, on average, as the previous two years. Reported incidents included a threatening phone call, and a note left on a DoC vehicle.
We now have an updated OIA response from NZ Police, informing us of how many further reports they have received since October 2018, to the 8th August 2019. Nearly one whole year has passed. How many reports of so-called threats to DoC from anti-1080 activists?
One.
This single incident apparently involved someone dressed up in a DoC uniform, and was dismissed by the Police because it was “not a direct threat to DoC workers”.
To be clear, there has recently been one well-publicised single prosecution. As far as Admin of the page are aware, the man, Gregory Buchanan, was unknown and unconnected to any persons or groups associated with the long-standing, peaceful protests against the use of aerial poisons in New Zealand. Mr Buchanan’s motives were unclear, but the media reported: “A man has been sentenced to five years in prison after sending threatening letters to Department of Conservation (DOC) staff over 1080 poison.[…]. In a statement, DOC’s Director General Lou Sanson says he hopes this sentence will serve as a deterrent for others. Mr Sanson says anti-social behaviour and threats against DOC staff have grown over the past year from people who oppose predator control using 1080 to protect our indigenous forests and wildlife. The threats have moved beyond social media trolling to the targeting of vehicles, property and people. Staff and contractors have been followed, filmed, assaulted and threatened.” (1NewsNow. 7 June 2019).
But where is Mr Sanson’s evidence for these claims? Who is it that needs a ‘deterrent’? As we’ve reported here previously, even DoCs own records do not support these claims. The claims of threats are utterly false. This begs questions such as: Why are DoC so obsessed with this fantasy of trying to be seen as a victim? And, perhaps more importantly, WHY have DoC recently been allocated millions of extra dollars of taxpayers funds to ‘protect themselves’ against this self-invented danger?
This Fake News must end and our New Zealand Media must be held to account for constantly adding to this dangerous propaganda.
Impending Milford Sound 1080 drop (Southland Cleddau area)
By Sacha Stevenson
1080 – It’s nothing new to most Kiwis. Opinions are divided.
The last aerial drop of 1080 here was only two years ago. Before the last drop (although I wasn’t working in Milford at the time) there was some community consultation, including a Q & A session with the Department of Conservation (DoC) – the lead agency involved with the drop in this region. I understand some local workers and one Iwi objected, but the drop went ahead anyway, including into the public water supply catchment area.
The next drop in the Southland Cleddau/Milford Sound area is scheduled for between Aug 1st and Dec 2019 and, just like the Sept 2017 drop, this again includes dropping 1080 into the water supply.
(See map below clipped 4 July 2019 from the online DOC map.)
In my opinion, the community here has not had an honest open forum to voice their say on the next scheduled drop (and every opinion is valid) but much worse, even if we get to have our say, chances are high that the tourists will be left uninformed.
There are many aspects to this topic, many already discussed. One of the main aspects here being in regards to the Public Health Unit (PHU) VTA Permission and conditions statement and its lack of implementation here in Milford Sound, and the effect it may have on locals and tourists. I’m not a lawyer, but I see this as a legal and moral failing in our duty to protect tourists (and locals).
The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) is responsible for ensuring that the provisions of the Hazardous Substances & New Organisms (HSNO) Act are complied with where it is necessary to protect public health. The Public Health Unit (PHU) is legislated by the Ministry of Health, to approve permission and attach conditions to interested parties applying a VTA (Vertebrate Toxic Agent) in a public place. This applies especially to drops into (or near) a public water supply. Public Health South (PHS) processes and approves permissions for the Fiordland area.
Permission is required because VTAs (of which 1080 is one) are toxic to humans through acute poisoning and chronic exposure. 1080 is considered a hazardous substance, for good reason. (See link to 1080 effects at p7.)
Some things stand out for me with the model PHU permissions:
1) Full disclosure to users is expected, with signs and warnings (which would logically be placed at the point of possible consumption)(see conditions 19 & 20 pg47 of VTA permission guide.)
2) An alternate water supply should be offered, if requested, until testing has been completed. (Case example – Condition 25 p67 note ii and conditions 25 – 32 of VTA permission guide.)
Bowen River valley and public water supply catchment area (see red circled area)
Figure 1: (Map clipped 4 July 2019 from the online DOC map.)
Milford Sound is one of NZ’s iconic tourist locations. We have between 500 to 5000 guests per day visiting the Fiord, hosted by various companies across the different seasons. The large majority of tourists are foreign nationals, many of whom don’t speak or read English very well.
However, I’ve had contact with the public water supply company in the last week, confirming that they’ve had no warning about the upcoming use of 1080. (As at 24th July)
Not a good start.
Despite the lack of communication from DoC (the lead agency for this particular drop) and from the aerial application contractor, many of the workers here in Milford know the drop is now imminent.
I understand that some of the companies here are planning to make bottled water available for their staff, but none of them (as far as I know) are planning to offer bottled water to the tourists, or even to put notices up in the terminal or on the vessels to warn them of the 1080 drop – so they can choose for themselves whether they would like to drink the tap water or not.
Knowing that 1080 is teratogenic (may cause birth defects) and with my partner being pregnant, I wouldn’t wish her to have any exposure whatsoever to 1080. I assume no foreign national in her position would wish to be exposed to that risk either. (See MOH Guidelines p7 re known 1080 effects.)
I am shocked that it appears that no one in Milford, including DoC, Milford Sound Tourism NZ (MST – the port operational company), Milford Sound Infrastructure ((MSI – the public water supply company), or the tourist companies providing vessels and the drinking water aboard them, is planning to at least inform the tourists that the water they may drink in the terminal and on board the vessels may potentially have a birth defect causing agent in it.
It is probably true that signs will likely be erected along the road into Milford, as we have seen done in various locations around NZ. But it is wrong to conclude that because those signs are at the rest areas, that foreigners will equate that with the drinking water in the terminal and on the boats being also potentially contaminated. One must remember, that many visitors can’t read English for a start, plus many come from areas where it is obvious that one doesn’t drink from any tap. Is it obvious here?
I would expect the duty of care and a minimum standard would mean that we’d firstly err on the side of caution. I would also assume that foreign governments would want us to set the minimum standard bar rather high when it comes to looking after the health and welfare of their citizens. As we would hope they do for our citizens when they’re abroad.
We know that the US and China for example, among others, take the safety of their citizens travelling overseas very seriously.
To add to the issues, Fiordland is a unique area in terms of its topography and rainfall. The Bowen River catchment valley is rather like a giant granite bath, with very little top soil, and average rainfall of 7000mm per annum. Together with winter temperatures, ice and snow melt, this will likely increase the risk of 1080 arriving at the intake at the same time and breaking down much more slowly. Further, according to TBFree HYPERLINK “https://ospri.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Documents/How-1080-Breaks-Down-in-Soil-Water.pdf” NZ:
“Biodegradation of 1080 is faster in warmer conditions (20degC), but still occurs at 5degC. At cooler temperatures rates of degradation are slower…..”
“Urgent samples for 24-hour turnaround testing may be sent unfrozen to the testing laboratory, but they must be chilled to 4°C and placed on ice as soon as possible after collection.”
Looking closer at Landcare’s testing regime (at 4.0): “Results will be available no later than 9.30 a.m. on the following day.” This means, at a minimum, no water should be drunk in Milford for 24hrs.
Do we need reminding that there is no antidote to 1080 poisoning?
It really seems easy to avoid the vast majority of the risks in this case. Just don’t drop 1080 in the water catchment area, meaning no 1080 to be aerially dropped in the Bowen River valley area of Milford Sound.
If DOC is so determined to go-ahead with the poison drop in the catchment area, then full disclosure to tourists should be made and an alternate drinking water supply offered (as per the model PHU statement example of 1080 in a public water supply).
It’s embarrassing that we call our country ‘Open and Inclusive’, ‘Clean Green’ etc and yet treat foreigners with this sort of disrespect.
Also of interest, according to the above Cleddau report; NO non-target species monitoring was undertaken. The water quality testing (pg 6 of DOC’s operational report 5.2.2) revealed the presence of 1080 at 1ppb.
I can tell you that as of writing, we have quite a few Kea (approx 20) hanging out in and around the village here in Milford.
Kea in Milford Sound, down near Deep Water Basin, May 2019 (Photo: Sacha Stevenson)
Plenty of Wekas here as well, plus I’ve seen the odd NZ Falcon eating road kill on the drive into Milford.
Weka at Deep Water Basin July 2019 (Photo: Sacha Stevenson)
I wonder how they will fare with the ‘Clean Green’ 1080 pellets raining down in the near future. Will anyone know if they’ve been affected?
To conclude: yes, opinions on the use of 1080 differ here, but no locals I’ve talked to think tourists shouldn’t at least be fully informed of what might be in their drinking water, to allow them their ‘Free Will’ to drink the local water or not.
Increase the peace
S Stevenson
Skipper – Milford Sound
An update to this article can be found at this link.
RELATED: EWR links to articles on 1080 in water. Search for other articles on 1080 poison at the categories drop down box at the left of the news page.
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′. EWR
From Alan Simmons at alansimmons.co.nz Alan is President & Co-Leader of the NZ Outdoors Party
“The Department of Conservation continue to repeat the same old story about attacks on staff and how it is affecting their role in protecting our precious wildlife. NZ herald https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12249704
This article repeats the same old same old as if their spin doctors have told them that if you repeat the story enough, people will start to believe it. But the opposite is happening and dislike for the Department continues to grow at an alarming rate.
You would think that wise heads in the Department could be thinking what’s going on? What are we doing that has us becoming the most hated government department when we should be the most loved.
The department of Conservation’s obsession with the aerial spreading 1080 has built a huge dislike of the department as predicted by advisors to the Minister Nick Smith when he rammed through legislation allowing the aerial dropping of 1080 without resource consents. Nick Smith’s advice to cabinet included a statement that “Loss of local decision-making is not an effect of the proposed regulation that could be avoided, but rather its primary purpose.”
In my opinion if you take away the public’s right to be consulted then you will get opposition and resentment as the public have no ability to express their feelings except but by protest.
Using Docs own statistics it has 35 incidents per year where staff are abused or threatened out of a staff of 4000. According to press reports these are having an accumulative effect on staff and diverting them from their work. I would suspect the threats are mostly via social media and some to rangers in the field undertaking enforcement work, so how does this affect the other 3980 staff. Especially when OIA requests to police show few if any of these so called threats are reported.
Rangers trying to enforce whitebait regulations, illegal camping, taking photographs of the landscape and hunting are likely to receive abuse. I would have thought it came with the job or have rangers become so soft and sensitive they report anything that hurts their feelings.? I personally know of one incident reported where a DOC worker objected to a car parked outside their house that displayed a small ban 1080 bumper sticker.
Is it now an offense to criticise or have differing opinions to a government department?
As a result of the “35 incidents” per year the Department has convinced government to give it 11 million dollars to set up a new division of ex spies or police called “Security and Investigations Team” to deal with these threats. 6 staff to do what one might ask. Drive around town and remove bumper stickers, sit all day on computers and monitor facebook.
Part of the job description lists:
Building a security conscious culture and organisational capability
Ensuring security and other health and safety incidents are investigated and responded to appropriately
To apply for this job you need to maintain a “SECRET ” security clearance, you should be able to access government security and intelligence groups such as NZ Police, security leaders in other government agencies and the NZ Security Intelligence Service.
All of this because people are feeling frustrated about the lack of consultation or the occasional person gives a DOC ranger an earful!
Again DOC will say they have received and successfully prosecuted two major anti 1080 crimes. Both had nothing to do with the “peoples protest”. The first threatened to put 1080 into milk powder and was subsequently found to be a poison supplier who was miffed his own poison was not being used and the second was a lone wolf hunter threatening by letter to release Sika deer. Both were dealt with by the police.
It would seem to me DOC are building a fortress around themselves rather that trying to understand why they are becoming disliked and subject to a hostile public. To my way of thinking a change of culture and understanding would be a far better way to go.
Involve the public and bring the public along with you makes a far more sensible option but I fear DOC are digging themselves into a huge hole to defend their position.
It will take some courage from within the department to start the process of filling in the trenches.
This includes 66 tonnes of 1080 baits targeted for the 33,000 ha aerial 1080 drop at Makarora in 2015.
The pre-feed was dropped at Makarora but the poison was not. Bad timing, and initial faulty flight charts, (by HeliOtago Ltd presumably), meant the drop was postponed and then foiled by the onset of winter.
DoC Wanaka announced the poisoning would happen the following Spring but this never eventuated. The poison was dumped. They have conveniently left this out of the OIA response to John Veysey in February, 2019 (see attached), and pretended they haven’t kept records.
Just as well WE do !!!
The comment in the OIA response to Mr. Thompson about Makarora, February, 2017 – “No toxic bait was transported to the operation site. The transport cost from storage to landfill was $8,000” – is I think, just DoC being tricky. It was again rumoured to have been stored at the storage shed at Haast. This is backed up by the fact that the poison operation had been due to happen any day, but as the prefeed didn’t happen until May 27, 2015, winter had set in and they just couldn’t drop the poison.
The loading site at Cameron Flat, Makarora, would have been too dark and cold. As it was, the prefeed was done in icy conditions (see photos).
So WHY did DoC leave the 66 tonnes out of the “1080 poison to landfill” chart sent to John Veysey of Coromandel as a result of his OIA request in February this year? The OIA response only admits to 34.31 tonnes of 1080 poison to landfill. (See attached)
Add in the 66 tonnes from 2015/16 and the 16.2 tonnes of flood-damaged 1080 poison baits from Haast this year (as stated in a recent OIA response to David Haynes), and we have a massive 116.51 tonnes 1080 baits to landfill… admitted to by DoC anyway. Is this ALL ?!!! How much have OSPRI and regional councils dumped?
Also, where in the ‘Manawatu-Wanganui region’ were the 66 tonnes of 1080 baits dumped? At the Bonny Glen landfill at Marton again?
Note: 30 tonnes in total were buried at the landfill consisting of 14 tonnes of prefeed bait, and 16 tonnes of 1080.
By Carol Sawyer
JJ NOLAN TRANSPORT’S FLOODED 1080 STORAGE SHED, HAAST, SOUTH WESTLAND – POISON WAS DUMPED AT MARTON LANDFILL!!
Today we learn that the flood-damaged 1080 poison was trucked and ferried over 1,000 kms to the ironically-named Bonny Glen Landfill *** at Marton, Manawatu/Whanganui… read on :
On May 18, 2019, I received this response to an OIA request from Carl Johnson, HS Compliance, Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), regarding the storage of 1080 baits in a flood-prone and flooded shed belonging to JJ Nolan Ltd at Okuru, Haast, South Westland.
The shed containing 1080 baits was flooded during the recent West Coast flood (25,26 March, 2019) that swept away the bridge over the Waiho River at Haast and caused huge damage in Westland, and further up the coast too.
“Hello Carol
On the 28th of March we received notification and following information from DOC regarding 1080 being affected by the flood:
“On the day of the flood water did seep into the shed storing 1080. The water rose above the timbre ( sic ) pallets the bait sits on and reached some of the bottom bags. No green dye was seen leaching out of the shed No bags were broken open and there was no loose bait in or outside of the shed. All packing was and remained intact. The bait that was affected by water was disposed of.”
Ho hum ! The flood “reached some of the bottom bags”.
“Some” bags! Rather an understatement, DoC! In fact more than 30 tonnes had to be disposed of!!!
Today David Haynes, Co-leader, NZ Outdoors Party, sent me the attached Official Information Act response he received from the Environmental Protection Authority, which gives the true story, plus the extraordinary fact that the damaged poison was trucked back up to Marton in the North Island….. a distance of 926 kilometres by road, plus the Interisland ferry!
1080 STORAGE SHED FLOODED AT HAAST – WHY HAVE WE NOT HEARD ABOUT THIS ?
On 25 and 26 March, 2019, extremely severe rainfall caused extensive flooding on the West Coast of the South Island. The bridge over the Waiho River at Franz Josef was swept away, and the State Highway, the only access road up the Coast, cut in two.
Further south, on the banks of the Okuru River just south of Haast, is Nolan Road, home to members of the Nolan family and JJ Nolan, owner of ‘JJ Nolan’s Transport Ltd’. JJ Nolan’s Transport Ltd has, for very many years, transported 1080 poison baits south from Whanganui to the South Island, to Haast, Makarora, etc. … to 1080 drop loading zones, or to Northern Southland Transport in Te Anau, who then move it on to 1080 drop loading zones, etc. Nolan trucks are travelling south from Whanganui right now, in fact. They are part of the big 1080 Gravy Train.
On Nolan Road, Okuru, is a shed used for storing 1080 poison baits. This latest flood swept through the properties pictured here in the aerial photograph, including, I am told, the 1080 storage shed. The shed contained 1080 baits at the time…we have not yet found out how much. It is rumoured that it contained at least 25 tonnes. As you can see, this four bay shed could hold a large amount of 1080 poison baits. 25 tonnes is only approximately one truck and trailer unit. You can see a truck and trailer curtain-sider beside the storage shed, which gives you some idea. Only half the depth of the storage shed is visible in the street view photos, by the way.
(These photos were taken completely legally from Nolan Road, which is a public road. The ‘Closed area’ sign at Nolan Creek refers to whitebaiting. It says “Nolan Creek – This waterway is closed to whitebait fishing” )
Floods in this area are not new. Here is a video of a massive flood in the Haast area in 1994;
Why, then,would you build a 1080 storage shed in a flood-prone area ?! Why did DoC give this contractor permission to store 1080 baits here? The second aerial photo shows old river courses ( marked with red dotted lines ) ! This is not a place one should even store chook food !!
1080 poison disperses in water quickly and easily, so imagine floodwaters ebbing away and imagine how enormous the concentration of pure 1080 poison in the last water to leach out of fadges of baits would be ! (1) (2)
The first property you come to on Nolan Road, I have been told, belongs to Maurice and Kathleen Nolan. In the Otago Daily Times ( 8 April, 2019 ), it is reported of this house: “Wild weather lashed the West Coast last month, forcing the postponement of the calf sale for a week – and flooding Mr and Mrs Nolan’s house, the water reaching over the top of their dining room chairs”
TVOne News apparently reported a cottage on the next property along ( the one with the storage shed on it ) as being destroyed by the flood, too.
I am told the occupiers of all three of these properties had to move to the local camping ground after the flood.
The photos show the property with the 1080 storage shed and also show you Nolan Creek, a bit further along the road, to give you some idea of flood damage. Nolan Creek runs just metres behind the 1080 storage shed, incidentally, then crosses Nolan Road and runs into the Okuru River.
The high flood level is evident from the grass hanging on the fence and the silage plastic wrapped around the top of the fence in front of the 1080 storage shed.
If it is true, as rumoured, that the shed contained a minimum of 25 tonnes of 1080 baits at the time, I should explain to you how very lethal this is :
25 tonnes of 1080 baits contain 37.5 kgs of pure 1080 poison.
The LD50 for a human being: “Based on fatal or near-fatal cases of human poisonings, the dangerous dose for humans is 0.5-2.0 mg/kg BW (Negherbon 1959)”
If we take the lowest figure that means that 35mgs pure 1080 poison can kill a 70 kg adult human being.
Therefore 25 tonnes of 1080 baits contain enough pure 1080 poison to kill as many as 540,000 people and poison another 540,000!!!
SHOULD ENOUGH 1080 TO KILL 540,000 ADULT HUMANS BE STORED IN A FLOOD-PRONE SHED?!!
Streetviews – Joel Lund
Captions and graphics on aerial views – Richard Healey
Photos of flooded fenceposts on drive of first Nolan property – sent to me anonymously.
‘JJ Nolan’ truck at aerial 1080 drop, Makarora – February, 2017 – Carol Sawyer
“Hmmm… that shed is likely to have standard 6m bays, but lets be conservative and say 5m. That makes the height to the top of the doors a bit over 4m. The shed is 70% as deep as it is wide so 14m.
That makes the volume somewhere around 1,100 cubic metres. If you were to fill that to the top with wheat that would be 870 Tonne so 25T would take up about 1/32 of the space. I’m picking that bait doesn’t pack anywhere as well as wheat but it does show just how much 1080 bait you could stack in there.
At 0.15% pure 1080, and assuming that bait is 60% as dense as wheat, that’s a maximum of 783kg of highly water soluble toxin in a tanalised-post farm shed, on a flood plain, with no bunding or other containment measures. Even if it’s near the rumoured 25T that would amount to more than 37kg of pure 1080. Who issued the permit for that storage?!”
***********************************
(1) Studies reported in the ERMA Reassessment of 1080 in 2007 showed that 1080 leached readily out of baits that were made wet by sprinklers:
“rapid decline [in 1080 concentration in cereal baits on turf under sprinklers] (ERMA Agency Appendix C page 380)
“1080 was detected in soil under the baits after 20mm rain, reaching a maximum after 100mm and close to the LOD after 250 mm” (ERMA Agency Appendix C page 381)
Also one of the reasons for its low rate of detection in water samples taken after 1080 drops was rapid loss of 1080 from the baits in water:
“the reason for so many non-detects in water monitoring..may be partly due to..rapid..dilution or loss of 1080 from, and disintegration of..baits within the first 12 hours of deposition..the author [Suren, 2006] recommends sampling within 4-8 hours..frequently resource consents require monitoring one day or more after..the operation” ERMA Agency Appendix E page 473″S
(2) Richard Healey comments again :
“There have been a couple of studies that give some clues about what happens to the 1080 when it comes into contact with water. Ogilvie, in “Uptake of 1080 by Watercress and Puha – Culturally Important plants used for food”, has a couple of observations that give a clue as to how contaminated the land around the Okuru will now be:
“A study by Suren (2006) examined the fate of 1080 baits in a controlled laboratory flow tank, and found 50% of the 1080 leached after 5 hours submerged in the water, and >90% leached after 24 hours, thus being very rapid. While the flow rate used in Suren’s (2006) controlled experiment was faster than the flow rates recorded here (0.2 L/sec as opposed to an overall stream flow of 0.042 – 0.044 L/sec in this research), it still indicates the rapid deterioration and leaching of 1080 from baits submerged in flowing water”.
That study also shows that Watercress is particularly good at sucking 1080 out of water and concentrating it in plant material. The authors couldn’t find detectable levels of 1080 in water 14 hours after dropping baits into a very gentle stream, yet toxicity within the plants continued to build for the next seven days to a peak level of 63 ppb. The study methodology and reporting are however woeful.
It doesn’t seem to have occurred to the authors that water velocity is likely to be an important factor and so they give flow rates (for an undefined cross-section) which tells us nothing about how much water passed over each bait. They then confuse the issue by labeling flow rate as velocity.
One thing is absolutely certain however, someone should be checking the inventory log for that shed and sampling the hell out of the surrounding area.”
400 tonnes of 1080 baits contain enough pure 1080 poison to kill up to 17 million x 70 kg human beings (and make another 17 million extremely ill). One tonne can kill 42,500 70 kg humans and make another 42,500 70 kg humans very ill (LD50 0.5 – 2 mg per kg b/w – Negherbon)
See here … DoC “staff and contractors being abused, threatened and even followed and filmed” says the NZ Herald … a bit rich really when environmentalists it’s been recently revealed (myself included) have been secretly spied on. In addition a senior environmentalist was assaulted in 2018 by DoC’s security staff (thrown out but the victim came out with $24K court costs by the way) and another man was run into by a farmer on his quad bike.
Following & filming environmental protesters
Stepping back a little, it’s a time worn tactic to reframe environmentalists as terrorists who threaten the lives of these ‘innocent’ employees of our govt departments cum corporations (that operate on a for profit basis note). If you hadn’t noticed, your government, your councils & your former government departments are all corporations/companies listed on Dun & Bradstreet & the SEC in Washington. Note also that corporations & companies cannot operate democratically as the article in the link explains.
An exposé of the corporate habit of hounding environmentalists is Nicky Hager’s account of the West Coast Timberlands debacle, ‘Secrets & Lies’… summarized in the foreword by John Stauber, ed of the US investigative journal PR Watch who cites Australian academic Alex Carey:
” ‘The twentieth century has been characterised by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy’. In his book, Taking the Risk Out of Democracy, he showed that it is through public relations that propaganda is best waged.”
A typical NZ environmentalist, part of the ‘rabble’ DoC seeks protection from
“The story that emerges is of unscrupulous PR tactics and a casual policy of telling the public what is useful rather than what is true”. Carey writes that ‘police states do not need sophisticated propaganda because bullying, murder, torture and poverty are horribly crude but effective means of enforcing control.’ And in nations like ours however… ‘the modern propaganda industry is so invisibly pervasive and effective … the art and business of public relations is necessary to keep the rabble in line’.
There it is in a nutshell. That’s what we have here folks in the ongoing drone by mainstream media that DoC staff are at risk of danger from anti 1080 activists. Note the terminology please & the use of ‘anti’. We are pro clean & green … yes we are against poisons but the use of ‘anti’ evokes visions of rebellion & violence. It’s all in the word play. And so when the movement against poisons begins to gain any traction or shed some light on the ongoing lies, another assault is mounted by way of the corporate owned media. And so, typically one of the media outlets (all the same really) will produce a bit more spin to fool the public.
So right now DoC in its latest spin that they are under threat has been allocated $10.7 million for security. Note in the article that the monetary sum is strategically placed after the long list of alleged threats. Also strategic is the selection of the feature image and the prominent word ‘eco-terrorism’ … even though it is referring to the state funded authorities, it serves as ammunition for them. A picture is worth a thousand words.
If you believe all of that spin you need to read the evidence obtained from OIA responses by the Police late in 2018:
The news outlets are all in the same camp at the end of the day, aside from the odd true journo who knows what side their bread is buttered so to speak. Or if the journo doesn’t it’s a case of ‘down the road.’
We have slid quietly from a (reasonably more) democratic society into a corporate & increasingly fascist state (remembering here the recent over-the-top police raids going on). From a nation where people mattered, where most people had a job and most were housed and fed, to a nation that’s now in $128 billion debt to the bankers (funny that), impoverished, homeless & in despair, witness our very high suicide rate. Our former Godzone is all but gone now. Beware.
For further light on this whole matter should you still be imagining the government/corporation really cares about you, or that the media wouldn’t lie, watch The Corporation movie. A real eye opener. It is on our Corporations page. EWR
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.
Regarding the toxic landfill sites, more from the Greymouth Star, 10 August 2000:
From the article (image below):
“Manager of the 1080 pellet producing factory, Bill Simmons, said dumping 1080 was accepted as normal practice and there was no cause for alarm about a 22 tonne dump at Chesterfield, North of Hokitika. In Wanganui, we dumped 58 tonnes in a landfill. We lifted the bait out of the ground for assessing and in six months it had degraded by half and in 12 months it was barely detectable.”
And yet, in the SAME article, (quote)
“Scientific evidence says WATER does DESTROY 1080 and residue lasts no longer than 24 hours and it does say that after 4 inches of rain the baits are safe.”
So which is it? Does the poison ‘disappear’ after 24 hours, or hang around for over a year?
And who did that testing?
You guessed it, the New Zealand Dept of Conservation – the same people advocating its use. The conflicts of interest and the inadequate and conflicting outcomes from testing has been ongoing for decades.
1080 poison does not ‘breakdown quickly into harmless salt’ as per the propaganda. It takes a long time to break down and the process kills micro organisms that are essential for the complex ecosystems of our environment.
There is no antidote to 1080 poison. It is a known hormone disruptor and a single teaspoon of the toxic chemical can kill many adults. The sub lethal impact on many species, including humans, is entirely unknown.
SO WHICH IS IT? DOES THE POISON ‘DISAPPEAR’ AFTER 24 HOURS, OR HANG AROUND FOR OVER A YEAR?
Richard Healey says :
“Neither proposition is true. The science on this is pretty well established. Adding water to 1080 simply makes an aqueous solution. The lethality will not degrade… ever. The same can be said for contact with soils. What does eventually break down 1080 are microorganisms sometimes found in the environment.
Note the “sometimes”. In a set of laboratory experiments one researcher found that when he added 1080 to a mixture of soil and water (eight samples, from different sites around New Zealand) the lethality of the mixture gradually decayed over time. For three of the samples essentially no reduction in toxicity occurred. The breakdown rate was dramatically affected by sample temperature and slowed quickly as the temperature of the sample was reduced below 23 degrees.
1080 is biodegradable, given the presence of the right microorganisms, given the right temperature and given time. Remove any one of those three and it is a very persistent toxin indeed.
That’s precisely why DoC’s use of the phrase “biodegradable 1080“ is so dangerous, so irresponsible and so dishonest. Think of it as telling someone that it’s perfectly safe to jump out of an aeroplane – without first explaining that you should be wearing a parachute at the time.”
If you are new to the 1080 poisoning program, here is a good article to start with …WHY ARE PEOPLE SO CONCERNED ABOUT 1080? 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′.
By Bill Wallace, (Leader of the Ban1080 Party and a qualified ecologist), April 22, 2017
The first Department of Conservation radio-tagging trial with Kea during an aerial 1080 poisoning operation was in 2008. Of the 17 monitored Kea at Franz Josef, 7 died of 1080 poisoning. (40% mortality)
DoC’s excuse at the time “may have been because juvenile Kea in the area had a habit of investigating “human-type” junk foods. .” (ODT 2/08/08)
In 2008 The Dominion Post obtained a draft internal report by DOC after the 7 deaths. The report says “aerial 1080 may well be a significant threat to the Kea population” with some drops “probably devastating”…
DoC’s Dr. Josh Kemp said “The Franz Josef Kea deaths had “shocked and stunned” DOC” (Stuff 28/01/09)
But Kea deaths from 1080 poison have been proven for over 52 years.
In 1964 Protection Forest workers picked up 4 dead Kea and 8 dead seagulls after a single 1080 drop. The birds tested positive for 1080 poisoning. (M.H.Douglas: Control of Tahr: Evaluation of a Poisoning Technique July 1966).
To find 12 large poisoned birds on foot would indicate the death rate must have been devastating for all the bird species in the area. DoC like to blame the decline in Kea numbers on early bounties. “ Kea had numbered in the hundreds of thousands but were devastated when a bounty was paid to kill them because of concerns they attacked stock.” (Press 29/07/08)
In 2011, DoC poisoned 7 out of 11 Kea at North Okarito ( 60% mortality). DoC’s excuse this time “It seemed likely the more open nature of the North Okarito forest was a factor, Mr Costello said” (ODT 12/09/11)
DoC then went on in 2013 to kill 5 radio-tagged Kea at Arthur’s Pass, DoC’s excuse this time “the repellent was less than the target concentration”( Stuff 21/08/13)
If such inane, puerile excuses were put forward by CYPS or the Police next time a vulnerable child is brutally killed, the media and politicians alike would take the offending officials to task. DoC appear immune from such scrutiny.
In 1999 DoC’s Dr’s Elliot and Kemp said “Kea nests appear to be relatively immune to predation from introduced mammals…Our results agree with a previous study of Kea nesting at Arthur’s Pass, where no evidence of significant nest predation was found (Jackson 1963).” (G Elliot & J Kemp 1999)
Now DoC claim “The Kea deaths are unfortunate but without protection most Kea chicks are killed by stoats. (Westport News 26/01/15)
So what has changed, DoC’s inept monitoring of nests since 2000 would appear to be resulting in further Kea predation and nest abandonment.
Overseas bird experts warn “Avoid leaving tracks or human scent that can direct predators to nests.” (Cornell University Ornithology Dept 2011) “visiting nests to check the contents necessarily results in disturbance of the individuals being studied. Moreover, investigator disturbance may increase the probability of nest predation… Human disturbance may also reduce nest attendance” (Elser and Grand 1993).
The logic is simple. Birds fly to their nests and leave no scent trail. Dr’s Elliot and Kemp and their sweaty cohorts leave a scent trail to the nests that a geriatric stoat on crutches could follow. “Eggs and chicks disappeared from 35% of the nests we monitored and at two of these nests definite sign of stoat predation was found” “Once it was found, we checked each nest every 2-3 weeks until it either failed or the chicks had fledged…” (G Elliot& J Kemp 2004)
Black-billed seagulls are now endangered, but DoC’s predecessors knew they were slaughtering them in their breeding grounds during the nesting season back in 1964. “A Department of Conservation report on bird numbers has classified the Black-billed gull “nationally critical”, the most serious category, usually reserved for our rarest birds, because of the rate of expected decline. There were an estimated 180,000 to 200,000 of the birds in 1977. There are now thought to be 60,000 to 70,000.” (Stuff 30/10/14)
In 2014, when DoC first monitored the endangered Rock wren through an aerial 1080 drop, 29 of 44 birds “disappeared” ( 65% mortality). DoC blamed “heavy snowfall” at the time and said “We have found no dead rock wren. There’s no evidence to suggest that … we’ve knocked them out with 1080.”(Herald 19/01/15)
But DoC’s Dr. Elliot now admits “The 1080 drop in 2014 killed four Keas and led to the death of Rock Wrens” (Fairfax Nov 16th 2015)
So why do so many otherwise sane people accept everything that DoC tell them? The so called independent EPA report is often cited, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Environment, Dr Wright is an absolute “1080-ophile”
But the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) review was called for by Department of Conservation (DoC) and Animal Health Board, and there was no cross examination of witnesses from either side of the debate. In October 2006, the AHB and DoC jointly submitted the formal application for reassessment of 1080. The applicants argued that 1080 is essential to controlling possums, which pose significant risks to farming (through the spread of bovine Tb) and to the environment (through predation of native plants and birds – EPA 2007).
The EPA report therefore, is similar in stature to a Local Council decision, made by Councillors or Commissioners. Such Council decisions are often completely rejected or significantly modified by the Environment Court, with the benefit of cross examination of witnesses.
Even after 63 years use of 1080 poison, DoC’s Graeme Elliot says “How are you supposed to find out how to do it perfectly? There is a lot of learning to do before we will get these operations perfect.” (Fairfax March 29th 2016)
There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind, or in that of the many retired Forest Service personnel and bushmen that I know, that the single biggest cause of the rapid decline of species such as Kea and Rock wren, is DoC and its inept and continuing use of 1080, and these species may well be extinct in our lifetimes, probably before Dr. Elliot finishes “learning”.
Bill Wallace
Ecologist
Leader Ban1080 Political Party, (April, 2017)
If you die from poison it’s your own fault and we, the Crown are not liable …
Well that is what it seems to say, to me.
“Disclaimer :
While the information in these pesticide summaries is provided in good faith, any person using the information does so at his or her risk solely, and neither Her Majesty the Queen, nor the Minister of Conservation nor Director-General of Conservation nor any employee or agent of the Department of Conservation shall be liable for any errors or omissions in these summaries.
Any person who takes any animal from land administered by the Department of Conservation does so at his/her own risk and no warranty, express or implied, is given as to the fitness for human or other consumption of such animals”
Note: So there it is people, your government has just told you that if you eat any meat from animals hunted off their 1080’d land, they are not liable. They can now poison your water with 1080 with impunity, no resource consent required. It’s a lot like the escape from culpability that vaccine manufacturers enjoy with no liability for damages. I see a pattern emerging here.
If you are new to NZ’s 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.
‘The developers, a couple from Scotland and Malaysia who live in Singapore, reportedly acquired property in Arrowtown in 2015 after an 18-month process through the Overseas Investment Office. The felling of non-native willow trees and installation of the boardwalk is reportedly to improve their views.”
QLDC gave their approval as well.
Iwi , LINZ, ORC and Fish and Game were also consulted as so-called “affected” parties, but no-one else was… what did they agree to?!
You can read the article from The Wanaka Sun at this link:
Works are underway at the southern end of Lake Hayes Photo: The Wanaka Sun
This article makes me feel very sad, not just because of the grebes, but because gentle John Darby has devoted so much time over recent years to try and save the crested grebe. He is restrained in his criticism, where I would be wanting to lie under the bulldozers. He has built floating platforms for the birds to nest on around the marina in Lake Wanaka, and has been devoted to these rare creatures.
He was Assistant Director and Head of Sciences at Otago Museum before he retired to Wanaka. This article will give you some insight:
So, last weekend came the revelation that DoC hired a firm to spy on certain environmentalists like the Marlborough deerstalkers, Stop Poisoning Coromandel Peninsula, Brook Valley Community group, the Stop 1080 Now Facebook group and the Rangitikei Environmental Health Watch. See the article:
Note the ‘anti’ word? It’s all about repackaging us. They want you to believe we are extremists, terrorists even & they promulgate this by their clever use of terminology. No mention of the more accurate title: ‘environmentalists’. All we want is a clean environment, clean water particularly & an assurance that our health is not being compromised. Not a priority for corporates of course and we are flies in the ointment of ‘progress’ in the form of corporate profiteering interests Predator Free 2050.
If nothing else this all illustrates the surveillance that is going on and the capability of FB & social media generally. We surely all know by now the internet is a handy information gathering tool. We’re in the public arena. The ridiculous thing is, EnvirowatchRangitikei’s information is all public (as are many of the FB pages & sites they’ve trolled for info) nothing secret squirrel about it. Could have accessed it for free. Still, they have the mission of pursuing those dubious and murky claims of threatened violence. Please do read the following on that one:
Do you see mainstream media calling them out on those facts? Of course not & you won’t be any time soon.
Below is the video from the RadioNZ article, which also contains the pdf file with all the conversations had by the security firm… if you can be bothered trawling through it. These are the depths to which a country once considered Godzone has fallen in the post Roger Douglas frenzy for profits.
Nearly 70% of DoC’s studies justifying aerial 1080 operations were conducted by employees of either AHB [Animal Health Board] or DOC [Dept of Conservation] with only three being published internationally (Robinson, pp 34, 35).
Reihana Robinson in her book titled ‘The Killing Nation, NZ’s State-Sponsored Addiction to Poison 1080’ cites the research of US biophysicist Dr Alexis Mari Pietak of Tufts University, Massachusetts.
Dr Pietak ‘conducted a comprehensive literature search for “peer-reviewed scientific investigations into the effects of aerial poison operations on non target fauna” and compared “the costs and benefits to native species poison operations versus unchecked possum populations at their peak density”.’
Quoting from Robinson’s book (emphases mine):
“Her research indicated aerial poisoning has “twice as many costs to native species as benefits, and that aerial poison operations were twice as costly to native species as unmanaged possum populations at their peak density.” this potential for widespread poisoning of insectivorous, omnivorous and carnivorous endemic and endangered or threatened bird species she believes is “a serious issue worthy of international and immediate action,” Namely, to immediately halt aerial poison operations.
Dr Pietak notes the few bird species that have actually been the subject of “proper radio-transmitter, colour banding, and mark-recapture analysis before and after poison operations’ are the nectar, fruit and foliage eating birds such as hihi, kereru, kōkako and kaka and are indeed most likely to benefit from possum removal. Missing from thorough research are those birds identified as being high risk of primary or secondary poisoning. They number 24 indigenous bird species. She references work by Armstrong 2001 that “notes that data derived from bird or call counts cannot be analysed to separate changes in abundance from changes in detection, due to the fact that bird behaviour is affected by the presence of a human observer. Detection rates can vary depending on the weather, human observer, and unknown bird behavioural patterns.” She states the “science seems to have been selectively interpreted, ignored, and moreover left grossly incomplete in its scope, presumably in the name of non-environmental economical interests” “
Like a growing number of researchers Dr Pietak notes the potential for bias given the large number of studies funded by AHB [Animal Health Board] or DOC [Dept of Conservation]. Of the 28 studies retrieved she finds 19 of 28, (nearly 70%), were conducted by employees of either AHB or DOC with only three being published internationally”. (Robinson, pp 34, 35)*.
* Pietak, Alexis Mari A Critical Look at Aerial-Dropped, Poison-Laced Food in New Zealand’s forest Ecosystems 2010 Creative Commons
NOTE: For further articles on 1080 use categories at left of the news page.
If you are new to the 1080 poisoning program, a must watch 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 to make your own informed decision on this matter.
We recently posted a story about Joel Lund of Wanaka who while attending a local function, chanced upon Lou Sanson, the CE of NZ’s Department of Conservation (DoC). As anyone would, Joel made the most of that random opportunity to ask him some questions. It’s getting pretty difficult to dialogue with any DoC staff these days going by reports I’m hearing where folk with standard questions about impending drops get the short shift & are promptly hung up on. So Joel asked the CE some pertinent questions on the use of aerial 1080, particularly the use of alternatives. This move on Joel’s part has since been decried in social media however because as it transpires, the CE was actually attending a funeral. He’s been reported as saying it was a reluctant ‘interview’ & considered inappropriate.
As unfortunate as the setting may have been & with all due respects to the grieving, nevertheless indifference to human feelings goes with the territory of a corporation … an entity that exists for profit only … owing no allegiance to humans whatsoever…
“Corporations are required by law to place the financial interests of their owners above competing interests. They are legally bound to put their bottom line ahead of everything else, even the public good” (Noam Chomsky, ‘The Corporation’).
A corporation has been defined as “… a business structure whose sole reason for existence is the earning of profits by manufacturing products for as little as possible and selling them for as much as possible. It does not matter whether the product does good or evil; what counts is that it be consumed – in ever-increasing quantities” (Barnet & Muller, ‘Global Reach: The Power of the Multinational Corporations’ p24)
Corporations are analyzed in this documentary using the World Health Organization’s personality diagnostic checklist & are found to exhibit all the traits of a psychopathic personality. The Corporation movie is your Corporations 101 class, an absolute must watch. Viewing it will connect many dots for you and explain much about the state the world is in today. The psychopathic diagnosis checklist for this disorder includes the following:
A callous unconcern for the feelings of others
An incapacity to maintain enduring relationships
A reckless disregard for the safety of others
Deceitfulness: repeated lying and conning others for profit
An incapacity to experience guilt
Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behavior
Sept 2018 saw a turnout of thousands at the culmination of a hikoi from the North & South of NZ
All sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it when you consider what we’ve been up against with regard to any negotiation over 1080 poison drops on our land, water and food. So, in light of all of the above, is the CE bothered about the two South Island women showered with 1080 pellets whilst out picnicking or their subsequent ongoing health issues? It would seem not. Was he concerned that the NZ lab lost a young hiker’s heart who according to her Doctor, may have been poisoned by 1080? It appears not as there are still no answers forthcoming on that one. Is he concerned at all about the Putaruru family who may have been poisoned by his corporation’s favorite poison? Or that the hospital did not test them in a timely fashion as recommended by the health professionals attending them? It would seem not. And what of the recent risk of 1080 in Auckland’s water supply? No again. Is he bothered that thousands of target and non-target animals and other wildlife die very long and agonizing deaths following his corporation’s ongoing 1080 drops? Or is he concerned that according to the late Dr Peter Scanlon 1080 may have been implicated in causing a cluster of miscarriages, stillbirths and congenital malformations to the children of pregnant women following aerial drops on the Whanganui River? Or that the data sheet of his corporation’s poison says not to drop it into waterways?
I don’t think so. His first & foremost allegiance is to the corporation he serves and not to the public of NZ. And after all our country itself is a corporation is it not? How can a corporation function as a democracy & thereby be considerate of the wishes of its citizens?
So if this is the modus operandi that corporations operate under, then why the surprise or offense from corporates about the setting of an impromptu interview when you clearly get what you give? Of all people they know the rules of engagement. Methinks it is more about diversion from the real issue at hand for the NZers who would like to decline the option of 1080 in their food chain.
Remember the CE of Nestlé’s notorious statement about water not being a human right? This is the mentality we are dealing with here.
Water is not a human right? Yet it is a corporate right to take it, bottle it and sell it back to us? Similarly it is their right to drop the ecotoxin 1080 directly into our waterways?
Make no mistake, corporations do not care about you. Profits are their only concern. Remember the recent helicopter entourage of 30 international bankers including the head of Goldman Sachs escorted by Lou Sanson over Fiordland? At the bottom of that one was the intriguing Nature Conservancy group ... for-profit corporations partnering with environmental organizations … known today as ‘greenwash’. Dirty corporations like Dow that are as much about conservation as pigs are about flying. ‘Conservation’ for profit. On that topic, consider the revelations of a former Taupo Mayor who exposed the gravy train that 1080 is, who did have a go at eliminating the poison, to no avail unfortunately. Mayors who are generally on as little as one third that of their CEs’ salaries clearly have no more voting power than the councilors who agree with them.
I reiterate, please do watch ‘The Corporation’ movie. If the entire planet stopped buying their stuff they would collapse overnight.
They rely on your patronage to continue their obscene practice of sucking everything on the planet dry … for profit … smiling at you and shaking your hand as they do so.
They are, after all, very good at lying & conning for profit. According to that WHO checklist at any rate.
John Key, the smiling assassin, pictured all but ‘gifting’ NZ’s water to OnePure at cantonfair.org.cn (click on the images to enlarge)
Watch The Corporation movie
Note: If you are unable to watch the movie, visit the website http://www.thecorporation.com/ where you will find transcripts to download.
Recently the SPCA (finally) spoke out about the animal cruelty associated with 1080 poisoning of NZ’s creatures, calling for a look into alternatives. If ever a death was cruel it was death by 1080. It has been likened by a veterinarian to two days worth of slow electrocution. (Search Youtube for video evidence of this. Not for the faint hearted).
Death by 1080’s been likened by a vet to two days of electrocution
Our authorities have tweaked the Animal Welfare Act to allow this. Just like they changed the Resource Management Act to allow them to drop this same ecotoxin with no antidote into any sized body of water totally disregarding the data sheets which say not to. A convenient ‘solution’ to those glitches in the wholesale poisoning of more than just pests (as we’re led to believe).
Anyway, the SPCA has been roundly censured for daring to suggest a two day agonizing death is reason enough to look into alternatives, assisted predictably, by an economist. To the discerning among us that’s surely an uncomfortable mix? An economist? Commenting on animal cruelty?
But then 1080 is very much about money & economies. And gravy trains. In NZ it is anyway. Economists are really enthused about conservation & the much touted ‘sustainable development’ lie. I say ‘lie’ because since the inception of the ‘sustainable’ idea (early ’90s) I’ve seen very little that you could call sustainable except of course the profits accumulating in the banks of its proponents. On the other hand, child poverty is up, suicide’s up, debt’s up, pollution is exponentially up and on it goes. So after 30 odd years & few if any results, it clearly isn’t working. Well not for most us anyway.
And aside from all of the above, a two day death IS cruel.
I’m noticing lately, every time a new crack appears in the flimsy rationale offered for using a non-target poison to target pests, instead of trotting out the body of watertight research thousands of NZers are still waiting to see, including the long term studies, we are offered as an alternative to the usual ‘toolbox’ speech, a new spokesperson, the latest being economist Gareth Morgan. Gareth has a financial interest in 1080 through his association with Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP), a partnership between NEXT Foundation, and the Department of Conservation. Gareth’s particularly well known for his inclination to exterminate NZ’s cat population. But then, they’re an introduced species aren’t they & the NZ Govt (Corporation) without plainly telling us in the Predator Free 2050 verbiage, intends for the elimination of all introduced species except farm stock. Economists in the, dare I say Rogernomics view however, do fit the new conservation look. Economists have a Houdini-like ability to adapt themselves to any cause if it means profits. Two things that go together like peas in a pod these days are profits & chemicals, even poisonous ones. Think Nature Conservancy (TNC).
TNC is known as the new Greenwash … environmental organizations partnering with very large & powerful corporations many of which have more to do with destroying environments than saving them. For further info on that read our post earlier last year on the Nature Conservancy visitors (30 international bankers including the CE of Goldman Sachs) flying over Fiordland with DoC’s CEO Lou Sanson … (see here also, cited below). (When this piece of news leaked out and was posted on social media, a Labour member explained in one of the discussions that it was a conservation mission associated with TNC).
TNC is a Hong Kong group and is headed by a former Goldman Sachs CEO.
Check out their corporate partners: “Pepsi Co, Disney, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Walmart and Cargill. In Asia Pacific, … Neutrogena in Australia and Rio Tinto in Mongolia. In Hong Kong, … Dragonair, Pacific Coffee Company, FORTUNE China, HSBC Private Bank, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Hong Kong Commercial Radio, Moet Hennessy Asia Pacific, Time Asia, Sun Hung Kai Properties and the Hong Kong Airport Authority”. And there it is again, Goldman Sachs. They’re featuring quite prominently. And Key’s friends from Merrill Lynch.
If you navigate from the NZ website for TNC, there is another list of global companies that have partnered with them. On that very long list are Dow Chemicals, Shell & Coke to name three, who are all ill qualified to fit any green profile by any stretch of the imagination.
Speaking broadly, a not so new breed of ‘environmental’ people have clearly been dominating the green movement for some time particularly since neo liberal economics and are in fact all for profit. Strange bedfellows they shroud their activities in a deceptive cloak of green & sustainable rhetoric but don’t be fooled. The bottom line of corporations is profit. (Read Behind the Green Mask on that. The author Rosa Koire’s site is here).
“As part of a three-year strategic plan, in 2016 we worked with government officials, local communities, indigenous (Iwi) leaders, businesses and local conservation groups to identify science-based solutions to poor water quality and runoff.”
You can read at the link what else they’re up to. Clearly with their input our waterways are no cleaner and our clean water reserves are still either under threat, or being bottled and sent off shore for the sole benefit of foreign corporations that plunder us with impunity.
Please do educate yourself on the independent science on 1080. There’s a war going on for the public’s total blessing on a poison industry that flies in the face of reason regarding the humane treatment of animals. And that’s just one facet of the issue.
NOTE: For further articles on 1080 use categories at left of the news page.
If you are new to the 1080 poisoning program, a must watch 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 to make your own informed decision on this matter.
If you are pro poisoning of the environment, EnvirowatchRangitikei is not the place to espouse your opinions. Mainstream would be the place to air those. This is a venue for sharing the independent science you won’t of course find there.
Finally we don’t endorse violence in any way shape or form.
NOTE: Periodically & randomly the facebook share option will disappear from posts on the front (this) page. If it is not appearing, click on the heading of the article to go to its own page, usually the share button will show up there. (All else failing copy & past the url to your facebook page).
Nearly 70% of DoC’s studies justifying aerial 1080 operations were conducted by employees of either AHB [Animal Health Board] or DOC [Dept of Conservation] with only three being published internationally (Robinson, pp 34, 35).
Reihana Robinson in her book titled ‘The Killing Nation, NZ’s State-Sponsored Addiction to Poison 1080’ cites the research of US biophysicist Dr Alexis Mari Pietak of Tufts University, Massachusetts.
Dr Pietak ‘conducted a comprehensive literature search for “peer-reviewed scientific investigations into the effects of aerial poison operations on non target fauna” and compared “the costs and benefits to native species poison operations versus unchecked possum populations at their peak density”.’
Quoting from Robinson’s book (emphases mine):
“Her research indicated aerial poisoning has “twice as many costs to native species as benefits, and that aerial poison operations were twice as costly to native species as unmanaged possum populations at their peak density.” this potential for widespread poisoning of insectivorous, omnivorous and carnivorous endemic and endangered or threatened bird species she believes is “a serious issue worthy of international and immediate action,” Namely, to immediately halt aerial poison operations.
Dr Pietak notes the few bird species that have actually been the subject of “proper radio-transmitter, colour banding, and mark-recapture analysis before and after poison operations’ are the nectar, fruit and foliage eating birds such as hihi, kereru, kōkako and kaka and are indeed most likely to benefit from possum removal. Missing from thorough research are those birds identified as being high risk of primary or secondary poisoning. They number 24 indigenous bird species. She references work by Armstrong 2001 that “notes that data derived from bird or call counts cannot be analysed to separate changes in abundance from changes in detection, due to the fact that bird behaviour is affected by the presence of a human observer. Detection rates can vary depending on the weather, human observer, and unknown bird behavioural patterns.” She states the “science seems to have been selectively interpreted, ignored, and moreover left grossly incomplete in its scope, presumably in the name of non-environmental economical interests” “
Like a growing number of researchers Dr Pietak notes the potential for bias given the large number of studies funded by AHB [Animal Health Board] or DOC [Dept of Conservation]. Of the 28 studies retrieved she finds 19 of 28, (nearly 70%), were conducted by employees of either AHB or DOC with only three being published internationally”. (Robinson, pp 34, 35)*.
* Pietak, Alexis Mari A Critical Look at Aerial-Dropped, Poison-Laced Food in New Zealand’s forest Ecosystems 2010 Creative Commons
NOTE: For further articles on 1080 use categories at left of the news page.
If you are new to the 1080 poisoning program, a must watch 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 to make your own informed decision on this matter.
There was another threatened stranding of our sea creatures recently in Northland on 8 December, this time dolphins. Right on the heels of 80-90 stranded whales on the Chathams recently, 51 of those did not survive as of 30 November 2018. There were also two other NZ strandings, one on Stewart Island that saw 145 dead, another in Northland which saw a loss of 5. This is all so tragic and with Christmas almost upon us the enormity can tend to fly under the radar. There will be more for sure. We posted a while back on this topic with other strandings, joining dots & making links to causes other than the usual mantra the authorities roll out as they have in this article.
DoC said exactly why whales and dolphins stranded was not fully known but factors could include sickness, navigational error, geographical features, a rapidly falling tide, being chased by a predator, or extreme weather. More than one factor might contribute to a stranding.
They never mention the factor that recently had alarmed conservationists in the US up in arms:
Defenders of ocean habitats and marine life are up in arms on Friday as the Trump administration is set to approve new abilities for the fossil fuel industry to conduct widescale and “deafening” underwater seismic in federal waters off the U.S. Atlantic coast.
In that article at the link there is another article referenced …Why whales strand and how to help them. It cites the usual reasons already mentioned; ‘whale strandings are natural occurrences’.
Media is predictably quick to eliminate man’s interference with the environment as causal regarding any environmental damage. If you’re familiar with this site you will know that this denial is not uncommon. Corporations whose primarily focus is profits all vehemently deny that their practices cause damage. They are also well armed with a bevy of well paid lawyers to ‘legally’ destroy anybody who threatens those profits. People are targeted, assaulted and even lose their lives standing up to corporate profiteering.
That said, it is well to search for and consider the independent information on all events since corporations cannot be trusted to tell you the truth. They tell bold faced lies. If you doubt that watch ‘The Corporation’ doco found on the Corporations page.
The Threat of Underwater Noise Pollution to Marine Life, Particularly Seismic Testing
The following short video from oceancare.org explains concisely the threat of noise to marine life saying “underwater noise pollution is a serious threat…” (the phenomenon media doesn’t mention).
At 1.45 minutes the effect of sonar from military ships is explained and at 2.22 minutes, the effects of seismic exploration for oil and gas on marine life. As many Kiwis will know our oceans are now replete with activity from the latter, especially since our ‘esteemed’ and recently departed leader John Key signed away drilling rights to his corporate friends. Key and his corporation (aka known as the NZ Government) have no regard whatsoever for our natural environment. Corporations are about profits not people or environments. See more on Key below.
Video Information:OceanCareOrg Join the worldwide campaign: silentoceans.comWhales stranding, shoals of fish collapsing, sea turtles fleeing: extreme noise is harming marine life. Noise caused by military sonar tests, the search for oil and gas, and giant ship propellers. Help us by joining the worldwide campaign SILENT OCEANS.
VIDEO INFORMATION: “Basically, John Key is [was & his legacy continues] killing whales and dolphins, and potentially ruining the seafood (crabs, crayfish etc) industry in the areas where this seismic survey technology is used.
The main environmental concern for marine surveys is the potential of seismic sources to disturb animal life, especially cetaceans such as whales, porpoises, and dolphins. Surveys involve towing an array of 15-45 pneumatic air guns below the ocean surface behind the survey vessel and emit sound pulses of a “predominantly low frequency (10–300 Hz), high intensity (215-250 dB).
Seismic surveying can damage the reproductive processes, auditory functions and other damaging effects to highly lucrative marine species (lobster, crab) and it poses potentially fatal effects to marine mammals.
Seismic testing is not fully responsible for whales running ashore or becoming stranded, but there is evidence that it plays a major role. Studies of seismic effects on several whale species such as Gray, Bowhead, Blue, Humpback and Sperm whales indicated substantial effects in behavior, breathing, feeding and diving patterns.
On November 28, 2004, Reuters reported that during a three day span, 169 whales and dolphins beached themselves in Tasmania, an island off the southern coast of mainland Australia. The cause for these beachings is not known, but Bob Brown, a senator in the Australian parliament, said “sound bombing” or seismic tests of ocean floors to test for oil and gas had been recently carried out near the sites of the Tasmanian beachings.
According to Jim Cummings of the Acoustic Ecology Institute, seismic surveys utilising airguns have been taking place in mineral-rich areas of the world’s oceans since 1968. Among the areas that have experienced the most intense survey activity are the North Sea, the Beaufort Sea (off Alaska’s North Slope), and the Gulf of Mexico; areas around Australia and South America are also current hotspots of activity.
The impulses created by the release of air from arrays of up to 24 airguns create low frequency sound waves powerful enough to penetrate up to 40km below the seafloor. The “source level” of these sound waves is generally over 200dB (and often 230dB or more), roughly comparable to a sound of at least 140-170dB in air.
According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, these 200dB — 230dB shots from the airguns are fired every 10 seconds or so, from 10 metres below the surface, 24 hours a day, for 2 week periods of time, weather permitting.
These types of tests are known to affect whales and dolphins, whose acute hearing and use of sonar is very sensitive.
On December 24, 2004 there was a magnitude 8.1 earthquake more than 800 kilometres southeast of Tasmania near New Zealand, with a subsequent aftershock 6.1 a little later in the morning that same day.
Then on December 26 the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck leading to the devastating tsunami that killed more than 300,000 people.
On December 27, 20 whales beached themselves 180 kilometres west of Hobart on the southern island state of Tasmania.
http://www.energy-pedia.com/article.a…
As part of Budget 2009 a total of $20 million over three years will be allocated to the seismic data acquisition programme run by Crown Minerals, which is responsible for the administration and promotion of New Zealand’s oil and gas.
LINKS TO THE OTHER THREE VIDEOS IN THIS SERIES can be found by locating the video at Youtube. The other videos will be there on the side bar to the right.
For more in depth information and interviews on seismic testing, the oil industry and the agenda of foreign oil companies here in our waters listen to three interviews with Rose Paige from thecontrail.com This is info you won’t be hearing in mainstream any time soon :
Some insights on DoC here from insiders … note that familiar word ‘restructure’ the the smoke & mirror modus operandi of the corporates. When the music stops (the restructure music) … less bums on seats, more work for those who are left, more profits for CE & the likes. A post Rogernomics tactic.
Insiders pan DOC’s corporate embrace
From newsroom.co.nz
Another sign of how the Department of Conservation has lost its way, some insiders and ex-staffers say, is its embrace of corporate management methods. David Williams reports.
Faced with staff discontent, the Department of Conservation called in consultants and rolled out a suite of management tools. First there was the so-called interface project, to improve relations between scientific and operational staff. After that, there was “team process” and “reflection logs”, and, for managers, “single-point accountability”.
DOC director-general Lou Sanson, a proponent of the changes, says when he was appointed in 2013 the department was “siloed”, after two big restructures that shed 250 jobs. The new wave of staff interactions have led to huge advances, he says.
But critics say the new set of behavioural rules are another sign DOC has lost its way – showing how disconnected the leadership of the organisation’s become from the work it’s there to do. One former DOC worker says the department’s been captured by fads, which has ushered in a period of “empty change”. They paint a picture of excruciatingly awkward, hours-long meetings of unnecessary navel-gazing.
Another former DOC staffer says: “A tremendous amount of money, time and effort was being spent on what I would regard as wasted projects trying to make communication internally within the department better.”
‘Just doing his job’
A current DOC insider says the changes accentuated the decision-making authority of managers, who were encouraged to manage workers more assertively. That’s made them more sensitive to people who – like departed ecologist Nick Head – challenge authority about poor decisions.
Head was controversially suspended for sending photos to conservation organisations, after being asked to do so, of irrigation pipeline work on public conservation land. But some of his ex-colleagues say he was just doing his job and was effectively punished for speaking up about “piss-poor” decisions.
From ‘NO to 1080’ facebook page, it was written by Joel Lund of Wanaka, who had the chance to meet up with Lou Sanson at a function recently, and made the most of the opportunity. Now I’ve seen this decried recently in social media in that the CE was attending a funeral and therefore this was a reluctant ‘interview’. My response to that is, as unfortunate as the setting may have been & all due respects to the departed, nevertheless this is what goes with the territory surely of CEs on their vastly bloated salaries. In bed with the banking fraternity & the greenwash club, and heading up a corporation that is in it for profit only (corporations do not consider humans, just profits, don’t believe me? Watch ‘The Corporation’ movie on the Corporations page, they are literally not allowed to consider the effects of their activities on humans) … that means you get what you give. Why should Joel Lund therefore be obliged to return human ethics to a steely cold corporate entity? This particular corporation is shutting out all questions from the public on the ground level (witness the folk who have been phoning them up lately with pretty basic questions about imminent aerial 1080 operations who are hung up on and treated like the so-called terrorists media is making anybody who is against 1080 to be). Anyhow …. read on …
A few weeks ago I met the boss of DOC Lou Sanson and took the opportunity to explain the possibilities and current technology available for the development and use of “Smart traps” to control predators of our endangered native species.
Lou’s response to my quick explanation of the technology and capabilities of such trapping systems was, “Whats wrong with using 1080 ?”
I responded with, “Well 1080 is toxic, extremely dangerous and kills so many non target species.”
His abrupt and seemingly angry response was,
Even though I was a bit shocked to hear such a totally blatant lie from the boss of DOC I quickly and calmly said,
“1080 kills about 65 dogs in NZ each year and kills many native birds such as Kea which DOC’s own studies show.”
I am not sure I have quoted the following exactly correct word for word but will be close to it. The conversation continued with Lou Sanson making up excuses as to why the development of advanced “Smart Traps” would not be suitable for predator control instead of 1080 poison.
He said such things as, “It will cost too much.”
My response was, “Smart traps would initially cost a hell of a lot to develop and set up but would become much cheaper over time.”
He gestured at the distant snow capped Southern Alps and said, “Look at that area, the area is too big, their is too much land to cover and so much of NZ is inaccessible.”
I argued that, “Nowhere in NZ is inaccessible because everywhere is accessible by helicopters and we don’t need to trap every single part of Public Conservation land to save endangered species. Some scientists have also recently made it clear that it would be possible to have many small areas of intensively monitored and predator trapped areas in NZ which could be enough to ensure the survival of endangered species and possibly even allow them to flourish.”
His response was, “You would know how hard it is to get good staff.”
Which I agreed to and responded with, “I am absolutely sure good staff can be found as their are plenty of people who would be very happy to be in the bush trapping especially if they could make a reasonable living out of it.”
I explained how camping and working in the bush is dramatically easier than it was in the old days due to advancements in equipment such as cheap satellite communication, GPS, ultra light weight technically advanced hiking and camping equipment that I use myself now such as my ultra light down insulated mattress.
Lou then said, “So how do you kill all the deer, pigs and chamois ?”
I would describe this as a clear admission from Lou that big game animals are targeted to be killed by 1080 poison and reinforced what I am absolutely sure is fact, that DOC’s current long term goal is to try to eradicate all big game on public conservation land.* [Editor’s note, they are indeed, see the link below].
I said to Lou, “After World War 2, deer cullers managed to get the massive deer numbers down without out all the extremely advanced equipment we have today such as helicopters, jet boats and thermal imaging equipped hunting rifles etc.”
Lou went on to ask what my profession or skills were before saying, “It sounds like you should apply for a job with DOC.”
Then he handed me his DOC business card. I expressed my interest in developing trap technologies but did not take up what seemed to be a job offer.
I spoke further about how companies such as some helicopter companies will be very worried about losing big long term lucrative government 1080 contracts if 1080 is banned but they need to wake up and realize that the 1080 contracts could be changed to contracts to fly in trappers and trapping equipment into Public Conservation land which might actually generate more profits for them than 1080!
It appeared he was in a bit of a “huff” when he finally said he had to talk to other people and walked away.
My impression of Lou is that he is a devout salesman that won’t let the truth get in the way of business deals and feels under pressure to honour the massive multi million dollar long term 1080 logistics and application contracts he has no doubt signed up with various companies. Those companies that have invested in the growing 1080 industry and no doubt gone ahead and financed such things as new trucks and helicopters on the back of long term government guaranteed contracts will not be very happy with him if the 1080 industry came to a screeching halt!
I won’t be feeling sorry for Lou Sanson when that day (hopefully) finally comes as it is hard to have any respect for a man that is so quick to lie to you even in person by saying, “1080 does not kill any non target species”.
Disgusting conduct from the Boss of DOC!
*All over the world the word has gone out that all creatures great and small that are not indigenous to that land will be terminated. It’s not just New Zealand
Photo: CEO Magazine
Header: Pixabay
NOTE: For further articles on 1080 use categories at left of the news page.
If you are new to the 1080 poisoning program, a must watch 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 to make your own informed decision on this matter.
If you are pro poisoning of the environment, EnvirowatchRangitikei is not the place to espouse your opinions. Mainstream would be the place to air those. This is a venue for sharing the independent science you won’t of course find there.
Finally we don’t endorse violence in any way shape or form.
The cruelty of this killing frenzy knows no end it seems. NZ’s ‘predator free 2050’ scheme aims to rid us of ALL introduced, non-native species except farming stock.
They are already coming for your cats. Of course they failed to fill us in on all of this finer detail. That would involve divulging all they signed us up to decades ago. Do read that article at the first link by Jenese James. It is very enlightening on the culling topic. If you keep your eyes open & read between the lines you may have noticed culling is becoming a common word (not to mention either the extinction of species!). One I saw not too long ago was the culling of Canadian Geese off Palmy’s Lagoon in Centennial Drive. It shocked onlookers & took place in the school holidays where children could have seen it. This scheme has already been condemned by two academics as being unrealistic. You don’t have to even be an academic however to figure it’s unrealistic, or cruel. Not rocket science really. It’s been said by more than one notable person that a nation can be judged by the way it treats its poor and vulnerable, and its animals. NZ, once a welfare state, is now found seriously wanting on all counts of that one.
Following is information on the Tahr cull from Carol Sawyer.
TAHR CULL UNDERWAY – BABIES LEFT TO DIE OF COLD AND STARVATION (Please share)
It has come to my notice, from an extremely reliable source, that at least two helicopters were working for the Department of Conservation last weekend – carrying out the Tahr cull (the one that Eugenie Sage said would not now be carried out until next winter) in the designated Tahr cull area that was organised prior to the fatal Wanaka helicopter accident on 20 October, 2018.
One helicopter flew out of Manapouri and a second involved is allegedly Wanaka-based.
The Dept of Conservation is crying out for more money, and yet the helicopter from Manapouri would have had a three hour return trip, I’m told, at a cost of at least $1,500 per hour plus GST – just to position it for the Tahr cull. There are several helicopters closer that could have been used instead.
The helicopter from Manapouri was carrying a DoC biodiversity officer to do the shooting.
Baby Tahr left to die of cold & starvation without their mothers
The Tahr are calving now. I’m informed the babies would probably not have been seen, as they are “planted” for the first two weeks of life, in a similar manner to deer – with Mum coming back to feed them. They will have been left to die of cold and starvation.
I have also heard via a second source, a shocked helicopter owner, that DoC are shooting the nanny Tahr in the guts so they go away and die invisibly in the bush, presumably in severe pain. If they were visible their skeletons would be visible for several years. This way they are hidden from public view. I SO hope this is not true!
SURVEYS SHOW THE UNMISTAKABLE TREND! 32% KIWIS OPPOSED TO 1080 POISON IN 2001 85% KIWIS OPPOSED TO 1080 POISON IN 2018
By Carol Sawyer
The opinion polls show what is happening. A ‘Marlborough Express’ poll in September, 2018, showed 85% of nearly 4,000 people want 1080 BANNED.
The comments poll on ‘The Project NZ’ also in September, revealed even higher figures against 1080.. almost 90%.
The protests on September 8th, 2018, nationwide, despite being made up of mainly rural dwellers, had over 5,000 people out in the streets, in 45 townships, towns and cities!
Watch the video!!!
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Here is the progression, according to surveys and polls:
In November, 2001, 32% were opposed to aerial 1080 poison.
In 2007, 43% were opposed and 12% were undecided.
In 2009, 43% were opposed and 14% undecided
In June 2016, a DoC survey of 4,200 people showed 61% were opposed to aerial poison.
In September, 2018, 85 % of 3,900 people in a ‘Marlborough Express’ survey wanted 1080 banned.
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On October 29, 2017, I wrote :
NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF NEW ZEALANDERS ARE NOT COMFORTABLE ABOUT AERIAL 1080 POISONING !
See page 8 of the 2016 DoC survey below. This was a survey of 4200 people, in June 2016 :
“The spread of poison bait and herbicides via aircraft are methods of pest control that the majority of the public do not feel comfortable using.”
This figure of 61de% of New Zealanders not happy with aerial poisoning is up from 43 % seven years previously. I suspect the figure will be a lot higher now.
Also, 72% of those surveyed do NOT see deer as a major conservation threat !
It makes the current spate of attacks on the credibility of anti-1080 people by DoC staff, and Director-General of Conservation Lou Sanson, more understandable. Opposition to their massive 1080 poisoning programme is becoming a very big worry for the authorities
Here is the relevant section from a Royal Society Journal with regard to figures in 2009, (43% opposed, 14% undecided).
That document’s link is below the excerpt, and is well worth a look. It is called “Opposition to aerial 1080 poisoning for control of invasive mammals in New Zealand: risk perceptions and agency responses”!!!
“Public concerns over risks and agency messages”
Within the last decade public opposition to the use of 1080 has risen. A national survey in November 2001 (UMR 2001 UMR 2001 . Omnibus results: favourability rating and support for 1080 use (November 2001) . UMR Research Limited , Auckland , , New Zealand . [Google Scholar]) found that 52% of the general public supported 1080 use while 32% were opposed. A UMR Omnibus survey in 2007 asked the question ‘Do you support or oppose the use of 1080 poison to control the impact of possums on native forests and birds, and to control the spread of tuberculosis?’ Only 45% of respondents supported use and 43% opposed, with 12% undecided (Harry Broad, pers. comm. 2009). When asked this question in April 2009, after the ERMA hearings, 43% supported its use, 43% opposed, and 14% were undecided (Harry Broad, pers. comm. 2009). Māori were much less supportive than non-Māori. Although the applicants had hoped that presenting new information on 1080 would reduce public concerns, the extensive ERMA re-assessment process had not done so. Public opinion on any given topic can be influenced by many factors, but ERMA had identified that users of 1080 were partly responsible due to poor communication and consultation practices.”
Please do read our recent related article on mainstream media’s take regarding alleged threats to DoC staff about the use of 1080 poison in NZ. Their information does not match the findings of a recent OIA request … to be specific there were actually only 9 threats in the last 31 months, DoC reports there were 93 last month. A very considerable discrepancy there.
People who want a class 1A ecotoxin kept out of their waterways, as the 1080 manufacturer’s warning data instructs, are not violent terrorists. They simply want to protect their families. Please consider all of the info before jumping to conclusions on this.
See the GrafBoys’ channel, tv-wild.com for further info on 1080. Be sure also to watch their 4x international award winning doco, Poisoning Paradise for an exposé of the real facts around the use of 1080. This doco is one your government appears to not want you to see given it is banned from screening on NZTV. Not the first one that hasn’t made it beyond private viewing, I will be posting more on that one later.
For further articles here on 1080 use the ‘categories’ drop down box at the left of the news page. Check out the 1080 pages at the main menu, particularly the sub tab, ‘suspected 1080 poisoning cases’. Educate yourself on the risks & protect your children. Discuss the risks & caution them never to touch the 1080 baits.
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′.
including the head of Goldman Sachs
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