Popular walking tracks to close for 1080 drop
An aerial drop of the controversial poison 1080 will be carried out in the Manawatu¯ Gorge.
The drop will be part of the Department of Conservation’s ‘‘Battle for our Birds’’ pest control operation.
The department’s Manawatu¯ operations manager Allanah Irvine said 1080-laced cereal bait was the most effective method available for controlling rats, possums and stoats over large, hard-to-reach areas.
Without it, the forest and wildlife of Te A¯ piti – Manawatu¯ Gorge – was in peril.
‘‘Rat and possum numbers in the Manawatu¯ Gorge forests are currently much higher than is accepted for forest health and successful breeding of forest birds.
‘‘Every day rats and possums kill birds and other native animals, and browse on forest plants, preventing regeneration.’’
The bait would be managed at ground level in sensitive or high-use parts of the biodiversity area, such as the popular Tawa Loop Walk.
But because of the steep slopes and difficult access, it was not possible to safely and effectively use ground-based pest control measures everywhere.
The closure of the former state highway road through the gorge provided an ideal opportunity to do an aerial drop, covering the gorge slopes on both sides of the river in one operation.
Forest and Bird regional manager for the lower North Island Amelia Geary said she was delighted the drop was going ahead.
‘‘Use of aerial 1080 is by far and away the best way to protect the gorge.’’
She said the combination of strongly smelling cinnamon baits and Gps-guided helicopters meant 1080 operations were safe and effective.
‘‘All the worst predators get knocked down to very low levels all at once and over steep, inaccessible and dangerous terrain, found in abundance within the gorge.
‘‘This 1080 operation will be a win for the birds as well as the other cool critters that call the Manawatu¯ Gorge home.’’
But the use of 1080 still has vehement opponents.
Save Animals From Exploitation (Safe) ambassador Hans Kriek said he was in favour of protecting native wildlife, but wanted more research on alternative, more humane ways of killing pests.
‘‘[1080] is inflicting a huge amount of suffering on these introduced animals. It’s a slow process and very distressing to watch.
‘‘Possums have been vilified, but they were brought here so people could hunt for their fur. It’s fine to get rid of them, but calling it a pest doesn’t change the fact it suffers.’’
Kriek said Safe understood why there would be an aerial drop in the Manawatu¯ Gorge, as it was the most effective option available.
But more efforts should be put into researching methods that caused less suffering, such as fertility control.
And Ban 1080 Party founder Bill Wallace said the drop was ‘‘Clayton’s conservation’’.
It was a cruel way of killing animals, leaving them frothing for days, dying a slow, painful death.
It posed risks of secondary poisoning of other creatures, including the wildlife it was supposedly meant to protect, he said, and it just did not work.
‘‘The rats bounce back within a year. It’s a never-ending cycle.’’
He said the poison did not break down in the environment as quickly as proponents claimed.
If 1080 was the answer, it was hard to understand why it had been used over and again for more than 60 years without lasting success.
The drop will take place between October 23 and December 7, with the timing dependent on the weather.
There would be two short closures of the recreational tracks in the gorge during the drops.