Protesters decry use of 1080
DOZENS turned out for a vocal anti1080 protest in Dunedin at the weekend.
It was one of about 40 across the country on Saturday against the use of the pestcontrol poison.
Protesters, some wearing chemical hazmat suits and carrying banners decrying the use of 1080, gathered outside John Wickliffe House in Princes St, near the Dunedin office of the Department of Conservation.
They drew strong support from passing motorists honking their horns, before observing 10 minutes of silence.
Waikouaiti retiree Don Kendall said he believed the use of 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) was a precursor to a United Nations plan for human depopulation in rural areas.
‘‘And there’s been so much misinformation out there, and the powers that be talk about the science of it.’’
‘‘I’m afraid, without trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist, it’s convenient science.
‘‘The agenda is really UN Agenda 21 . . . basically it’s a depopulation of the rural areas.’’
Agenda 21 is a nonbinding United Nations resolution focusing on sustainable development, but has become the subject of a rightwing con spiracy theory arguing it is a totalitarian environmentalist plot.
Hunters were strongly represented at the protest.
Among them was Jay Callaghan, who said he was gravely concerned about the risk of his dogs being exposed to 1080.
‘‘More to the point, it’s not just about hunting.
‘‘It’s about . . . the waterways, kiwis, bird life’’.
The Department of Conservation says dogs are particularly sensitive to 1080 and must be kept away from baits and carcasses.
In a 2011 investigation, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright found 1080 was a safe and effective way of reducing the population of possums, rats and stoats.
Dr Wright also found 1080 breaks down naturally in the environment without leaving permanent residue in the earth, water, plants or animals.
In a recent Science Media Centre Q&A, University of Otago AgResearch Chair in Reproduction and Genomics Prof Neil Gemmell said 1080 was the ‘‘best tool we currently have for largescale pest control’’.
‘‘The case of 1080 use is well established and it works — where it is used our native species are recovering, where it is not they die. It really is that simple.’’
AUCKLAND: A trust opposing Auckland Council’s 1080 poison drop in the Hunua Ranges has won a court injunction temporarily suspending the operation.
The council had already begun covering the bush with nontoxic predrop pellets, to be followed up with 1080 within seven to 10 days, despite being aware of the application to the Environment Court from the Friends of Sherwood Trust.
Judge Jeff Smith said the prefeed drop started just before a telephone conference.
‘‘The council proceeded with the drop in the knowledge of this application and therefore at its own peril in the event that the interim orders are granted for the long term.’’
The aerial poison operation was publicly notified at the end of August.
The purpose is to reduce pest numbers and maintain the natural habitat of the Hunua Ranges. Pest levels have risen again after a successful 2015 operation.
The council wants to apply sodium fluoroactetate (1080) by helicopter to 30,501ha across the Hunua Ranges, an area that provides about 65% of Auckland’s drinking water and houses four large water reservoirs.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service developed safety measures for the drop, including instituting a nofly zone designation, buffers of 20m50m around water reservoirs and exclusion buffers of 200m around any water intakes.
The reservoirs were also to be disconnected from the water treatment plant while bait was being laid and before it became degraded.
Despite these measures the trust raised concerns 1080 would fall into the water supply.
The trust had applied for orders preventing the deposit of any 1080 poison baits in the bed of any river in the Hunua Water Catchment.
The trust was also concerned about the potential the impact of 1080 on the flora, fauna and water supply.
Judge Smith granted an interim order preventing the council from conducting an aerial drop of 1080 in the area before 4pm on Thursday.
A hearing into the issues is due to start at 10am on Thursday. — NZME