1080 halted after deer die
The drop last October is feared to have wiped out hundreds of deer
Poison drops on New Zealand’s largest farm have been suspended after fears scores of red deer were killed following a 1080 operation targeting possums.
Deer hunters self-funded an aerial survey of the historic 180,000-hectare Molesworth Station in the South Island after a 1080 drop last October by TBFree NZ was feared to have unintentionally wiped out as many as 345 red deer.
The final number of carcasses spotted lying on the vast farmland is yet to be publicly released, with the Marlborough branch of the NZ Deerstalkers Association saying its scientists are still writing their comprehensive report. Meanwhile, Ospri, the government-backed company, formerly the Animal Health Board, which is fighting to eradicate tuberculosis (TB), has deferred any further drops on Molesworth Station “until at least next year”.
“The deferment was decided after the initial possum control operation [in] 2017 killed more deer than expected, meaning future operations may need to use deer repellent over a wide area,” an Ospri spokesman told the Herald. Ospri say they are now
undertaking further research and testing into alternative repellents, which could also prove “significantly more cost effective”.
NZDA Marlborough branch committee member Wayne Smith welcomed the move.
“We are pleased that further 1080 drops have been deferred,” he said.
“Hopefully the new deer repellent options will be effective as well and in future we see a large reduction in by-kill from these operations.”
The Department of Conservation (DoC), which owns the station and leases it to Landcorp, gives Ospri permission to run pest control operations on public conservation land.
Ospri’s TBfree nine-year programme is designed to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from Molesworth, which has a long history with TB infection in its cattle herd and wildlife, dating back to the early 1960s.
Eight helicopters using GPS dropped toxic bait at 2kg/ha on a 61,200ha area late last October after “significant public and community engagement”.
“Ospri recognises that there is always a risk of deer by-kill as a result of 1080 application for pest control and is committed to working with hunting groups to minimise the impacts on these populations through targeted use of deer repellent.”
Offers by local hunters to shoot as many deer as possible before the 1080 drop were not taken up by DoC, the Herald was told.
Experienced helicopter pilot Bill Hales said it was a “crying shame of a wasted resource”.
“Why not let us guys in there for three months before you have a poison drop and harvest the product? Why waste the resource?”