Tag Archives: native birds

Read Dr Fiona McQueen’s letter on 1080 poisoning & NZ’s native birds that the Wanaka Sun declines to publish

June 7, 2021 Pam Vernon

EWR comment: the 1080 issue is still as present as ever. It has been overshadowed more urgently at this blog by the CV VX rollout. The 1080 poisoning however continues, business as usual with currently the East Cape to be slathered with this deadly poison. Sixty years on and we still have the pests? How long does one keep applying a solution that doesn’t work? Meanwhile the beautiful Kea is in serious decline. If you are new to the 1080 problem here in NZ just watch the GrafBoys’ excellent award winning doco ‘Poisoning Paradise‘ & visit their site tv-wild.com. Also see our 1080 pages (main menu). Article below…
__________________________________________________________________________

IMPORTANT UNPUBLISHED LETTER BY DR. FIONA McQUEEN – THE WANAKA SUN

“…most conservation –minded NZ’ers would be fairly shocked to hear that 1080 actually kills native birds – in any numbers, small or “huge”. This unfortunate fact has been well and truly proven in peer-reviewed studies and is termed “by-kill”. Which species? Tomtits, robins, morepork and kea to name a few… after the 2020 drop in the pristine Matukituki Valley, 50% of DoC’s monitored kea died”
Dr Fiona McQueen

From Carol Sawyer

On April 15, 2021, The Wanaka Sun published an opinion piece by Ross Sinclair, committee member of the pro-1080 poison Central Otago Lakes “Forest and Bird”…. incorrect and biased as one might expect.
Over the ensuing weeks there were a number of ‘Letters to the Editor’ in opposition to this article. (Notably there were none in support of the opinion piece, although Ross Sinclair was given the right of reply not once, but twice!)
One letter was from Dr. Fiona McQueen, consultant rheumatologist at the SDHB, and author of “The Quiet Forest: The Case Against Aerial 1080”.
The Sun’s editor, Pat Deavoll, told Dr. McQueen in an email on 19 April that she would “certainly publish it in the next edition- you have made some very good points”. It has never been published.
I posted it on Facebook a week ago along with the original opinion piece, with Dr. Fiona McQueen’s permission.
Strangely, I shared it to Upper Clutha Community Notices, a local Wanaka Facebook group with more than 7,000 members. It was approved and then quickly deleted and when I pointed this out to one of the admins with whom I have had cordial dealings in the past, it was reinstated. It was deleted again; again I pointed this out and it was reinstated. It appeared there was disagreement among the admins.
Finally, after 24 hours or so, comments were turned off, this particular administrator sent me an extremely rude private message, totally uncalled for, referring to “your precious post”, the post was deleted, and she blocked me.
Dr. McQueen’s letter STILL has not been published by The Wanaka Sun and yet here in this week’s issue is a letter from John Veysey, commenting on the non-existent letter !! (I thought I must have made a mistake but I have been back through the last 6 weeks of The Wanaka Sun and, no, Dr. Fiona McQueen’s letter has never been published).
Here is her letter again, and I have attached John Veysey’s letter to The Wanaka Sun, from this week’s edition, (which must have a few people scratching their heads as no-one reading The Wanaka Sun has ever seen Dr. McQueen’s letter) :

“Dear Sir,
I would like to make some comments in response to your recent article, “Putting 1080 to Bed”. Firstly, I would expect that most conservation –minded NZ’ers would be fairly shocked to hear that 1080 actually kills native birds – in any numbers, small or “huge”. This unfortunate fact has been well and truly proven in peer-reviewed studies and is termed “by-kill”. Which species? Tomtits, robins, morepork and kea to name a few. How many are killed?
Contrary to Dr Sinclair, I find the data on kea to be extremely alarming. It has been estimated (by DoC) that each poisoning operation will kill, on average, 12% of kea. But sometimes that percentage has been much higher. For example after the 2020 drop in the pristine Matukituki Valley, 50% of DoC’s monitored kea died.
“The keas’ deaths will be horrific, with extreme muscular spasms going on for many hours,” said Dr Jo Pollard, PhD, an independent scientist who has crusaded for years against the use of aerial 1080.
Personal confirmation of this came to me quite separately from an individual working on a DOC hut during 2020. In the days following a 1080 drop he commented, “the keas were making a really awful noise, it sounded like they might have been screaming …” It is very disturbing that there are so few of these iconic birds to be found now around the West Coast, in areas where they used to be plentiful. DOC says its the stoats. Really? Stoats were introduced more than a hundred years ago. The kea population only seems to have plummeted in the last twenty or so (since intensive and repetitive 1080 drops have been underway in kea habitat). More likely it is something that most definitely kills them in large numbers – 1080.
Ross Sinclair has alluded to the recently published paper by Bomans et al, (NZ Journal of Ecology 2021) investigating the effect of 1080 drops on birdsong. True, there was very little difference shown between 1080 and control groups over a period of years (leaving aside the subgroup of tomtits exposed to 1080 where birdsong was reduced). But hold on, shouldn’t there have been a difference? Isn’t that what the whole 1080 programme is supposed to do? Bring back the birdsong? Here is conclusive scientific proof that it is a complete waste of time and money, with a lot of dreadful suffering thrown in for many helpless creatures.

Dr Fiona Mcqueen
Consultant rheumatologist
SDHB”

1080, Native Birds in decline, News, Poison

Three takahē died following 1080 drop in Kahurangi National Park

August 28, 2020 Pam Vernon 1 Comment

The killing of natives continues sadly. Poison 1080 doesn’t target pests, it kills everything that breathes oxygen. EWR

From stuff.co.nz

Three takahē have died after aerial 1080 predator control in Kahurangi National Park at the top of the South Island, one likely due to 1080 poisoning.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) said the cause of death of the other two birds was still being investigated but 1080 poisoning was a possibility.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/122564934/three-takah-died-following-1080-drop-in-kahurangi-national-park?fbclid=IwAR019Uo4LAmPrqPaIESkVQ1XgqHSvD3vJSYAKASkXPp7dTRWLpnPqDjbrhI

Photo: Wikipedia

1080, Birds, News, Poison

The Taranaki forest is silent … “eerie, no birds” … observation from a local

February 5, 2019 Pam Vernon 2 Comments

Apologies for the video in this article being removed. Facebook removed it from circulation so I have uploaded it via Youtube instead. Hopefully this will solve the problem.

A common observation now, particularly from the older generation who know how things used to sound in the bush. You can hear that in Te Urewera here at this link. Botanist Joseph Banks who came with Cook to NZ described the loudness of the bush in the late 1700s …

‘This morn I was awakd by the singing of the birds ashore from whence we are distant not a quarter of a mile, the numbers of them were certainly very great who seemd to strain their throats with emulation perhaps; their voices were certainly the most melodious wild musick I have ever heard, almost imitating small bells but with the most tuneable silver sound imaginable to which maybe the distance was no small addition. On enquiring of our people I was told that they have had observd them ever since we have been here, and that they begin to sing at about 1 or 2 in the morn and continue till sunrise, after which they are silent all day like our nightingales.’

We are now told this has stopped because of the pest population, however, if you listened at the link above you’d know Te Urewera still has this very loud chorus & it has not been poisoned with 1080.

Taranaki on the other hand has been well bombarded with the poison … 27 years worth. It seems to not be working then?

Just the other day one of our readers commented below one of our 1080 articles:

“As a retired Hunter & photographer who has always lived in the bush, I can say that I have always known that DoC’s Scientific reports are false, People in the city know nothing about the Great outdoors & the Animals & people who live within the forest. I am 74 years old this year, I have never seen such a decline in birds as there is now.”

Here is another comment:

I myself love photographing Birds, I have been doing it all my life, I did extensive Travel in South Is. when I was young, I have just returned from a Photography trip in Fiordland, So Sad the 1080 Poison has killed so many of the Birds, I only got 3 Good photos of Birds, compared with 50 odd in the 1970s, What I did see a lot of, was 1080 Poison Signs.

And another:

Me and my sister used to take trips out to Kinloch to take our kids for ice creams and just enjoy the scenery. That was until we noticed warning signs for 1080 being dumped in the area and seeing multiple dead birds no way we were going to let our small children play there anymore!

Anyway, listen to the commentary here from Brett Power in the Taranaki:

Finally remember the recent revelation from a LandCare Scientist that one of DoC’s South Island aerial 1080 drops would have killed an estimated 10,000 birds. And we’re supposed to believe 1080 only kills targeted pests?

1080, Birds, DOC, News, Poison

A NZ Landcare scientist estimates the likely death toll from an Otago 1080 drop in 2002 to be around 10,000 birds

October 14, 2018 Pam Vernon 6 Comments

More evidence on the apparent wanton decimation of NZ’s bird population by the deadly class 1A ecotoxin 1080, banned in most countries, with no antidote, dispensed by helicopters into the bush like a ‘veritable lollie scramble’ as I recently read it described by a person who for a long time worked with both 1080 poison & with DoC.

The late Bill Benfield* in his book, The Third Wave, Poisoning the Land, describes dead birds that were picked up by searchers in 2002 at the Waianakarua Scenic Reserve in North Otago (a 4043 hectare block). (p 71)

Each bird had been grid referenced on a map and at a pest management strategy meeting in Christchurch (May 2009) a Landcare scientist was able to estimate the likely death toll… an astonishing 10,000 birds. Benfield describes the potential possum population in the reserve as being around 7-8,000 in which case he concludes, the pest management people (DoC & AHB) are poisoning more birds than there are possums.

We know of course that 1080 can’t target just non-native birds. So the photos supplied by people of post-drop death counts invariably include examples of both.

paws for a cause 2.jpg — A native Kotare (Kingfisher) found also after a 1080 drop, supplied by Paws for a Cause

kahurangi nat park jim hilton — Another image of a birds following a 1080 drop in Kahurangi National Park .. note the native Kereru and Kotare (supplied by Jim Hilton)

NOTE: the header image is not of the birds in question, these are from Paws 4 a Cause’s Facebook page, collected after another 1080 drop. There are many photos of dead birds collected by people directly after the drops. Regarding this article, there is an actual image supplied by Bill Benfield in his book (p71) however I do not at this stage have permission to use it. Please don’t bother asking for proof these ones died of 1080 poisoning. It is not rocket science as to why a collection such as these died when they were collected directly after a 1080 drop. And besides, the Landcare scientist and the folk at the said pest management strategy meeting in Christchurch, all took it as given that the estimated 10,000 birds died of 1080 POISONING, not other causes. No mention of any other possibilities for death with neither any mention of testing the said birds. Now that these items of information are coming to the fore thanks to investigative writers like Benfield, and to the dedication of the many thousands who recently & historically protested, the said authorities are racing hither and yon suddenly getting the birds tested to ‘prove’ that the folk who simply want clean water & food are getting unnecessarily hysterical.

However, remember the 89 dead kiwi that DoC didn’t bother to test for possible 1080 poisoning? I rest my case. Clearly the authorities can no longer rest on their laurels and assume that the trusting NZ public are asleep like they used to be.

* About the late William (Bill) Benfield:

William Benfield was an environmentalist author who wrote three books. The first two dealt with the widespread use of 1080 poison in New Zealand. The first is titled At War with Nature-Corporate Conservation & the Industry of Extinction, (find on Amazon) the second, cited in the article above, is “The Third Wave: Poisoning the Land”. His third book is called Water: Quality and Ownership.

Read Amazon’s commentary on At War with Nature: Corporate Conservation and the Extinction Industry:

“This is a book about how the destruction of one of the world’s most unique, ancient and unspoiled wilderness areas has led to the growth of an international industry eradicating animals and plants which have been deemed to be “invasive”. That is because they are where pseudo-scientists say they should not be. What New Zealand began as an industrialised extermination has now become island eradications in many parts of the world. To expand and grow, it must either seek more islands, or widen its scope to cover whole nations; that is what it is now doing.
The parasitic riders who drive this conservation gravy train are:-
•Government conservation agencies who seek to increase their bureaucratic power and influence,
•The agri-chemical industry who supply the chemicals and poisons.
•The powerful and wealthy conservation charities who whip up the concept of “threats to nature” as a way generating donations, bequests and corporate sponsorships.
•The academic and science institutions who see in it a rich seam of grant money for supplying junk science in support of the eradication industry.
Eradications are carried out on a scale reminiscent of the US military aerial deforestation of Vietnam with “agent orange”. Here, for all wildlife, the animals, birds and insects, the poisons used are super-toxins such as brodifacoum and 1080. For vegetation, they have devised new wonder chemical cocktails such as “Armageddon”. It is total ecosystem genocide.
To whip up a public fervour to help justify such mass environmental poisoning, the people are fed the concepts of invasive pests and threats. Thus, harmless creatures are demonised and need be shown no mercy. By deliberate and devious propaganda, the public are kept unaware, that in the blinkered rush of zeal to kill “pests” and “predators”, the eradication industry is killing everything else, even the rare and endangered species such as an entire monitored population of rock wrens from an aerial 1080 poisoning at New Zealand’s Kuhurangi National Park.
It is a war against nature.”

A further article featuring Bill Benfield from Stuff:

Riparian planting does not counter nitrate runoff says environmentalist author

1080, Fiordland, News, Poison

Since a 1080 drop in Fiordland’s Hollyford Valleys in late 2017 the rat population has INCREASED & native birds, deer & trout are in severe decline

March 30, 2018 Pam Vernon 11 Comments

From Carol Sawyer

HOLLYFORD AERIAL 1080 DROP, OCTOBER 2017 – DISASTROUS RESULTS !

(These results come from inside the Dept of Conservation itself, but I doubt that they would have seen the light of day if they were not exposed here! DoC need to understand that not all their employees agree with their poisoning ways.)

This 1080 drop in the Lower and Upper Hollyford Valleys in Fiordland, 5-6 October, 2017 has been an unmitigated disaster! The area had never been 1080 poisoned before.

Read on….

RATS :

For many years, there has been a volunteer trapping programme in place around Gunn’s Camp on the Hollyford Road. Ninety-eight traps are set along approximately 20 kms of the Hollyford Road, back into the bush a bit, from Marian Corner to Humboldt Creek and for a couple of kilometres beyond the end of the road.

These traps are set approximately 200 metres apart, and they are cleared every three weeks, weather permitting. For years, these traps have averaged a total of 6 to 12 rats every three weeks, all up.

After the 1080 drop, the next couple of trap clearances yielded very little. This is what one would expect immediately after an aerial 1080 drop.

However, now things have changed and, five months on, the rat plague that is to be eventually expected after a 1080 drop, of triple and even quadruple previous rat numbers, (not that the Dept of Conservation will publicly admit to this), has started.

Three weeks ago the traps were cleared and contained 32 rats. Interestingly, some of the traps had two rats in them, which is apparently unusual.

Last weekend’s tally was 24 rats. That equates to 54 rats in a period of 6 weeks, whereas prior to the drop one could have expected, at the most, 12 to 24 rats to be caught in that time.

Rats have NEVER been caught here in these numbers before !

Add to this the fact that the rats being caught recently are all young rats, this means that a veritable rat plague is on its way, and by the time the anniversary of this virgin 1080 drop comes around this October, a rat plague is what people in the area will be witnessing !

BIRDS :

29694391_2082002838746698_2126048645793359417_n

29571340_2082002548746727_6125118201331156090_n

29598122_2082002998746682_6518342338136113120_n

Gunn’s camp in the Hollyford was a Kaka haven. Twenty to forty Kaka were regularly seen there, and as many as fifty were counted on one relatively recent occasion.

Moreporks ( Ruru ) abounded. One Morepork used to sit behind a generator shed there, and when the generator was turned off every night it then became very vocal. It was a loved ‘character’ of this special place.

There has not been a Morepork or a Kaka seen or heard since the 1080 drop five months ago. ( The “generator” Morepork was also obviously killed by the poison. ) Fantail numbers have taken a major dive, as the insect population has, of course, decreased and consequently the fantails are short of food.

DEER:

A local helicopter company has had reports, recently, from hunters it transports into hunting areas that deer numbers are ‘low to non-existent’ since the drop.

TROUT:

It is reported that a big pond in the Hollyford River, above Gunn’s Camp, which always had trout, now has none.

FINANCIAL COST OF THIS DISASTER :

This would be very hard to ascertain. Even an OIA request won’t do it, or at least not in the least accurately.

( Take for example the aborted 1080 operation at Makarora, Mt Aspiring National Park, in 2015, where prefeed baits were dropped, but far too late in the year and winter set in so the poison part of the operation never went ahead. The 66 tonnes of poison had to be retrucked back to the North Island and buried in a landfill (it was rumoured to be in Marton). DoC Wanaka claimed the total cost of that farce was $187,000 but figures i spent a long time working on showed the true cost to be well in excess of $1 million – even before the relocation of 1080 back for burial in the North Island ).

HOWEVER, I was told by a very reliable source ( a local helicopter pilot ) that HeliOtago received $1.2 million for this 40,000 hectare aerial 1080 drop in the Hollyford Valley, Fiordland National Park, last October. That of course was only a fraction of the total cost.

Photos :
Gunn’s Camp – Photo Michael Venter
Kaka – Photo Birding NZ
Morepork ( Ruru ) and young – NZ Birds Online
Gunn’s Camp – Photo Forthloveoftravel
Fantail – Photo Birding NZ
Hollyford River at Gunn’s camp – Photo Earth Burners

SOURCE

1080, News, Poison

1080 drop at Molesworth Stn NZ kills 345 NZ deer … dubbed “utterly inhumane” by a US University Professor

December 31, 2017 Pam Vernon 29 Comments

From the No to 1080 use in NZ Facebook page. Read the details of NZ’s Molesworth Station drop in mainstream media below. If we the public treated our animals in this way, we would be convicted of cruelty to animals. Not DoC. They kill non target animals with impunity. Three hundred and forty five deer is a lot of animals. This is happening also to sheep, cattle, horses, our native birds and pet animals, while DoC tells us it targets pests. Dying from 1080 poisoning has been likened by a Vet to two days of being electrocuted.

The poster below has been circulated by Professor Marc Bekoff of Colorado University with the following comment:

“This is utterly inhumane and simply wrong — every welfare and conservation organization should openly oppose this slaughter” … Marc Bekoff, Prof of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, U.S.A.

25152120_2029056524041330_2917709887380273685_n — Poster: James Smith

Deer deaths investigated by New Zealand Deerstalkers Association

stuff.co.nz

Hunters have paid for scientists to fly over the site of a 1080 drop, thought to be behind hundreds of dead deer, to count carcasses.

The toxic bait was dropped over a third of Molesworth Station, the country’s largest farm, by helicopter in October as part of a national possum control operation.

The Marlborough branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association then hired two helicopters to methodically sweep the area, having planned the survey in advance.

Anger after 1080 drop kills red deer at Molesworth Station

nzherald.co.nz

A 1080 poison operation targeting possum on New Zealand’s largest farm has angered hunters who fear it’s needlessly killed hundreds of red deer.

Deer hunters have self-funded an aerial survey in the last few weeks to count just how many of the local red deer population have been killed after a 1080 drop in late-October by TBFree NZ to control possums on the historic 180,000-hectare Molesworth Station.

While the Marlborough branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association (NZDA) says the data is still being collated, with a final report still a month away, online hunting forums suggest as many as 345 red deer have been spotted lying dead on the land.

“There were certainly dead deer seen,” said Wayne Smith, NZDA Marlborough branch committee member, “and, from observations, not as many live deer running around the hills as we would’ve expected.”

1080, Birds, Chemicals, DOC, Native Birds in decline, News, NZ, Pollution

Is 1080 Saving or Destroying Our Bird Life? Hear for Yourself the Poisoned Vs Non-Poisoned Forests

September 12, 2016 Pam Vernon 6 Comments

By 1080 Poison New Zealand Youtube channel

Hear the proof for yourself what has happened with the ongoing poisoning of our forests. They are supposed to be protecting our bird life are they not? Perhaps our esteemed experts have created a new breed of bird that doesn’t sing? … check out our page called ‘NZ’s Silent Forests – Where have the birds gone? EnvirowatchRangitikei

Copy of Feb 2015 149.jpg — NZ’s Kereru (Native Wood Pigeon)

See the TheGrafBoys YT channel and website for more videos. Support their efforts. Educate yourself on 1080 poisoning. See also http://1080science.co.nz/

See also our 1080 pages for info & links, &/or search ‘categories’ drop down box for further related articles (at left of any page).

Like our FB page &/or follow our blog (right of any page) to help spread the word on all the untruths we have been told – we are about exposing corruption and lies! Use the share buttons!

Thank you!

EnvirowatchRangitikei

The Four X Award-Winning Environmental Film NZ TV Channels Refuse to Play

DOC’s Dubious Success Rate with 1080 – $3.5 Billion, a Decade Later & Not a Single Endangered Bird Species in Recovery

NZ on its own uses 80%+ of the world’s supply of 1080

A note from admin about commenting

This site/blog is a truth site. Our purpose is to dig below the surface stories and where present, to expose lies and corruption. We do this also by citing independent research from professional people. This is what mainstream media should be doing however media is also corporately controlled now and as we know corporations are for profits not people or environments. For that reason I reserve this venue for commenting that seeks truth also. If you are strongly pro poison, chemicals, damage to environment, damage to health etc etc your views would be best stated in mainstream media where the status quo is already firmly entrenched. Some of the people of the latter persuasion are in fact paid trolls; so desperate are the powers that be to maintain their control of opinion, they pay people to debunk truth.

So, that established, please feel free to comment without advocating any kind of violence or hatred. We are for truth and peace here.

1080, Chemicals, News, NZ Government, Pesticides

The 4x Award Winning Environmental Film NZ TV Channels Refuse to Play

June 29, 2016 Pam Vernon 2 Comments

For over 15 years the New Zealand Government has been systematically dropping massive amounts of food, laced with a cruel and universally toxic poison into its forest ecosystems. Enough poison every year to kill the entire population of NZ four times over. No other country is doing, or ever has done, anything remotely similar on such a scale.

Sodium Fluoroacetate

Untitled9 — Animals poisoned by 1080 die a long, slow and horrible death

1080 is an alias for Monofluoroacetate, a chemical. It blocks a particular step in the Krebs Cycle (Citric Acid Cycle) which is essential for the metabolism of oxygen in every cell of every animal. It kills everything that breathes air, everything from earthworms to elephants, including native birds. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies 1080 as ‘Extremely Hazardous’, most countries ban it outright. NZ uses 85% of the world’s supply … I’m not sure what that means but I guess the world hasn’t figured out what a wonderful thing it really is.

Dr Q Whiting-OKeefe (BA Chemistry, Math), MD, FACMI

Poisoning Paradise Documentary

“The following New Zealand film has won 4 international environmental awards – but here in NZ, TV channels refuse to play it. Why? Because if they did, there would be outrage and riots over New Zealand’s use of aerially applied 1080 poison. See for yourself … ” From TheGrafBoys‘ Youtube Channel

In Oct 2014 two of Auckland’s water supply lakes were closed for four months because the herbicide metsulfuron-methyl has been found in them. Soon afterwards, Auckland City Council announced that they planned to drop 1080 on the Hunua Ranges, the source of their water supply. The Greymouth Star reported on Oct 16 2014 that the West Coast Regional Council had admitted they have a $500,00 investment in a new factory that is considering themanufacture of 1080 near Christchurch. A metabolic poison, 1080 is extremely toxic to all air-breathing organisms. In most countries it is banned outright or severely restricted because of its lethality and its indiscriminate killing power. For further information on 1080 (NZ uses about 90% of the world’s production!) read here: http://ban1080.co.nz/1080-facts/

or watch a trailer at this link: http://www.thegrafboys.org/movies/preview.html You can purchase the Graf Boys’ documentaries on 1080 at this link: http://www.thegrafboys.org

See our 1080 page for more info & links, &/or search categories for further related articles (at left of any page).

Please also consider liking our FB page &/or following our blog (right of any page) and do spread the word on all the untruths we have been told!

EnvirowatchRangitikei