Conservationists on the upper Coromandel are joining forces to back iwi demands for a halt to pending 1080 poison operations on their sacred mountain.
The sanctuary and landcare groups have stated their support for a Rāhui placed on Moehau mountain by Rangatira Frances Henare of Rongo-Ū. Rongo-Ū and the hapu of Te Pa-tu-ta-tahi iwi are mana whenua of Moehau mountain at the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula.
The Department of Conservation has announced an extensive aerial poisoning operation on Moehau for May or June this year, with abutting landowner notifications currently underway. The planned 1080 poison drop would span 4,500 hectares of previously successfully trapped terrain. Frances Henare has declared, “The Rāhui is enacted to protect the wairua, the mauri and the well-being of Moehau, Toxic chemicals are not permitted to be used in our sacred area.
Rongo-Ū and the hapu Te Pa-tu-ta-tahi iwi have never given consent to DOC or anyone else to represent their lands of inheritance. We will no longer be silenced and if DOC persists in denying us our right to object it will prove to be their downfall.”
Neighbouring Ngāti Huarere has declared full support for the Rongo-Ū Rāhui. Vice Chair of the Ngāti Huarere ki Whangapoua Trust Wanda Brljevich said the trust is “unanimously opposed to the (1080) drop on Moehau. We support humane toxins like cyanide if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, hunting and trapping is our preference for pest and predator control.”
In nearby Harataunga Kennedy Bay, the Mihihara Harrison Whānau Trust’s Sally Mihihara Steedman said, “We fully support the current Rāhui placed over our maunga tapu Moehau against the continued use of poisons. You cannot poison the whenua back to health. The only beneficiaries from poison are the manufacturers of it and the scurrilous and unscrupulous users of it. Poison has no land and no mana.”
Local Coromandel conservation groups joining the call to respect the Rāhui include the Manu Waiata Restoration & Protection Society, Coromandel Landcare Association, Waiau Hawk and Morepork Sanctuary, Coromandel Our Backyard, and the Upper Coromandel Landcare Association (UCLA).
The National Environmental Advocacy group Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa spokesperson Asha Andersen say, “We fully support this Rāhui and all others like it, where manawhenua and the local community have placed protections against chemical poisoning of the environment and wildlife. This sacred Rāhui must be honoured.”
In response to concerns raised by local conservationists regarding lack of respect for mana whenua of Moehau, the Environmental Protection Agency have initiated an investigation into DOC’s consultation methods.
“Rangatira, Frances Henare of Koputauaki has taken this courageous action against government policy that uses cruel toxins to kill wild animals,” the Coromandel conservation groups have jointly stated. “It is a policy that continues to be supported by National, Labour and the Greens who refuse to listen to hapu, iwi and rural communities.”
The Ministers of Conservation, Maori Development, and Finance have been advised of the Moehau Rāhui by Rongu-Ū and asked to formally respond by 13 April whether the ministries will respect the Rāhui by calling for a halt to the aerial toxin operation. Rangatira Frances Henare has placed a Rāhui against the planned May/June DOC aerial 1080 poison operation on Rongo-U mana whenua on Moehau mountain at the top of the Coromandel.
Pingback: Māori women lead the struggle against 1080 poison as Rāhui Gains Support — Waikanae Watch – New Human New Earth Communities
Best of luck to stop the poisoning, if you can stop it that will be a first as the DoC are absolutely addicted to the poison.
Eco-land Ltd is happy to assist those that wish to manage ecosystem recovery in a different way. Since 2014 we have been pushed into a distant corner by those that manage PCL for the public of N.Z. Our DOC work at present is singular species due contract prescription regardless multi species control is possible.
Totally inhumane. The animals die in horrific prolonged agony. Anybody promoting the use of 1080 has no right to hold any type of role of authority. They are either corrupt or devoid of any kind of empathy.
What is the problem wildlife? Rats have been here since 1200 AD (kiore), ship rats since about 1750. Possums are not a problem, since they are herbivores they browse foliage just as birds browsed it for millions of years before. Landcare told DOC n 1994, possums are not voracious consumers of vegetation. Landcare Research shows possums do not predate birds eggs. Ag Minister Nathan Guy in 2016 told Parliament 9830 posums were autopsied – nt one (zero) had bovine Tb.
In a few words the possum has ben demonised, villified etc., in an irresponsible attempt to justify the pro-poison policies of DOC and OSPRI.
I say irresponsible because the two agencies are guilty of wasting public money and of killing wildlife from insects to birds. By the way 1080 was initially developed as an insecticide. It kills insects from worms (kiwi tucker) to bees (vital for pollination).
For heaven sake DOC, come clean on this flim flam act!
I thank this woman for voicing the disgust we all feel when authritirs poison our land, water and animals, and subsrquently us as well.