Stop the ignorance about 1080 poison and save New Zealand's native wildlife

Do you genuinely care about keeping New Zealand clean and green, but don't know who and what to believe when it comes to 1080 poison? If you are considering signing petitions calling for an end to the use of 1080 in New Zealand, or you simply want to know the science-based facts about 1080: what it is, why it's used and exactly what it does, please take a few minutes to read the information below:

New Zealand's unique flora and fauna is highly vulnerable: it evolved over 80 million years with no browsing or predatory mammals. In a very short space of time, human settlers have upset this delicate balance by introducing a large number of highly destructive animals including possums, rabbits, rats, stoats, ferrets and feral cats. These pests are having a devastating effects on New Zealand's native plants, animals and ecosystems as well as our agricultural sector. Recent research shows that introduced pests kill an esitimated 26 MILLION native birds and their eggs every year. They also compete for, and wipe out, critical food sources for birds such as supplies of berries, flowers, fruits and invertebrates. Possums and ferrets transmit bovine tuberculosis (TB), a disease which could threaten access to premium export markets for New Zealand's cattle and deer industries.

In many areas, sodium flouroacetate poison, known as biodegradable 1080, is the only way of killing enough of these pests to give our native habitats a chance of survival, and break the TB disease cycle. Mammals are particularly susceptible to 1080 poisoning, making it the ideal pest control poison in a land without predatory native mammals. Aerial application of 1080 using helicopters is a carefully planned process, targeting and avoiding specific areas and boundries using GPS technology. It is only used where ground-based trapping and baiting is impractical. Curently, the Department of Conservation uses 1080 poison is used on just 2 per cent of the conservation estate.

Scientific research shows that, in the tiny area of New Zealand where it is used, 1080 is highly-effective at reducing numbers of possums, rats and stoats, allowing native wildlife the opportunity to breed successfully. Kiwi are just one species benefiting enormously from pest control using 1080 poison. In 2001, before an aerial 1080 operation in Tongariro Forest, 32 kiwis were radio-tagged. All were still alive six months later and 40% of their chicks survived. By comparisson, the usual survival rate of kiwi chicks was less than 5% before the 1080 operation. DOC has monitored more than 200 kiwi during aerial 1080 operations – some for up to a year. No kiwi have ever been killed by 1080, no traces of 1080 have been found in kiwi eggs and there is no sign of kiwi starvation due to 1080 killing the insects kiwi feed on. The dairy, beef and venison industries, which are worth more than $12 billion a year to the economy, are also benefiting. When funding for possum control was cut in the late 1970s the number of infected herds tripled over a 14-year period, from around 550 to over 1700. Thanks in part to the use of 1080, by June 2011 the number of infected herds was well under 100.

The risks of 1080 have been evaluated by two independent review bodies - the Environmental Risk Management Agency and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Both concluded that the current use of 1080 in New Zealand is both safe and necessary, and poses no threat to human health or the natural environment. Science proves that 1080 is biodegradable and dilutes rapidly in water. It is broken down in the water and soil by micro-organisms into harmless natural by-products. From September 1990 to February 2011, 2537 water samples have been tested by Landcare Research after aerial 1080 operations – none of those taken from drinking water supply contained any trace of 1080 at all.

No one wants to use poison but if we don't, we are condemning millions of native trees, insects and birds to certain death each year. We believe that if you love the bush, you would choose continuing to use 1080 until something better is found. Please take the time to find out more at www.1080facts.co.nz, a website set up by Forest & Bird and Federated Farmers to provide factual information about how and why 1080 is used in New Zealand.