Support For Protecting Birds And Forests With 1080

Forest and Bird, Issue 305, 1 August 2002, Page 4

Support For Protecting Birds And Forests With 1080

— GEOFF KEEY

Ho and Bird is supporting the continued use of aerial 1080 to protect forests in the lead-up to the reassessment of the poison by the Environmental Risk Management Authority expected next year. The Animal Health Board and Department of Conservation are re-applying to the authority to use 1080 so that new information about the poison can be considered. Neither agency anticipates that 1080 will be de-registered. ‘Forest and Bird wants to restore New Zealand’s forests to their former glory, filled with mistletoe, fuchsia, five-finger, rata and kohekohe, and ultimately we want to be deafened by the dawn chorus of the birds, says the national president of Forest and Bird, Dr

Gerry McSweeney. "To achieve this, effective pest control will be required and this will require the use of 1080 at least until other longer-term methods are developed’. Pest control in the Waipapa Ecological Area in Pureora Forest using aerial dropping of 1080 has been so successful that 150 North Island robins have been transferred from there to other reserves in the North Island. Over the last two years, 30 robins have been transferred to Barnett Reserve at Waotu, 60 robins to Mangaokewa Reserve near Te Kuiti, 30 robins to the Kakepuku Historic Reserve near Te Awamutu as well as another 30 to the Hunua Ranges west of Auckland. Aerial drops of 1080 in areas such as Pureora Forest have

come under fire from hunters who object to by-kills of deer. Recently, a Te Awamutu hunter, Roger Clarke, claimed in an Evening Post article that the Department of Conservation’s use of 1080 had wiped out all the robins in Pureora Forest. As part of their campaign, deerstalkers have claimed that 1080 is the cause of ‘silent forests, by killing all the birds. A senior adviser to the Department of Conservation, Herb Christophers, rejects the claim. ‘Let’s get the sequence right. New Zealand’s forests have being going silent since well before 1080 was being used. Pests are the culprit’ he says. Contrary to deerstalkers’ claims, Herb Christophers points to the success of Department of Conservation operations using 1080 to protect forests and wildlife in Pureora Forest. Last October, the Waipapa Ecological Area was treated with 1080. It now contains the largest population of kaka on mainland New Zealand, estimated in March 2002 to be 975 birds. This is an increase on the population estimate of 729 birds for October 2001. Before and after the 1080 operation, kaka were monitored by radio tracking equipment. Around 25 kaka were radio tagged and none died. This corresponds with previous kaka monitoring during 1080 operations. After 1080 poison operations in Tongariro, Pureora and Whirinaki forest, no radio-tagged kaka or kiwi died. According to Dr Gerry McSweeney of Forest and Bird, research shows that 1080 is unlikely to contaminate water supplies, despite some contrary claims. ‘Between 1990 and 1998 a total of 868 water samples collected in New Zealand after

large-scale 1080 operations showed no evidence of significant or prolonged 1080 contamination in surface or ground water, he says. One of the benefits of possum control with 1080 is the impact on rats and stoats which eat poisoned possum carcases. Both are poisoned by 1080 and this provides increased protection for bird populations, leading to the increased survival of kiwi chicks and improved robin populations. Gerry McSweeney notes that studies of kiwi, kaka and robin show that around 95 percent of kiwi chicks, 95 percent of kaka chicks and 70 percent of robin chicks die in the wild, primarily because of stoat and rat predation. However, these chicks are protected by aerial applications of 1080 which reduce the number of predators. ‘After 1080 poison operations, kiwi breeding success increased from less than 5 percent to nearly 50 percent and robin breeding success increased from 30 percent to 67 percent’, Gerry McSweeney says. Gerry McSweeney is also of the view that poisons such as 1080 are essential for the survival of New Zealand’s unique bird species. ‘Those opposing 1080 are consigning some species to extinction on mainland New Zealand, he says. ‘Forest and Bird looks forward to the day when critically endangered species can once again survive and flourish on the mainland and a native dawn chorus is restored to many parts of New Zealand’

is

Forest and Bird’s conservation officer responsible for pests and weeds and biosecurity matters.