Opinion by Laurie Collins, Sporting Hunters’ Outdoor Trust
Each 1080 drop in total cost (departmental time included) is said to be $2.5 million to $3 million each.
A slow agonising killer
Currently the Department of Conservation (DoC) is carrying out aerial 1080 poison drops, particularly along the West Coast. These cover huge areas of public lands – two examples of several are Kahurangi National Park, 235,308 Hectares and Arawhata River valley (South Westland), 84,450 Ha.
Mid-November and into December is when red deer hinds give birth to fawns. 1080 is a slow, agonising killer. The poisoned mother hind undergoes a horrific death. The motherless fawn then dies a slow death from starvation.
Compare that to a deer farmer. If he or she were to take a hind away and leave the new born fawn to starve slowly, there would be a conviction. There’s a glaring double standard smelling of hypocrisy and blatant animal cruelty. Or is DoC content to “kill two deer with one stone.”
Surely the Minister of Conservation should be concerned?
The mute Minister should speak out
Minister Potaka has been very quiet almost mute, as Minister of Conservation but this is one issue he should be speaking out about and rapping the knuckles of the department for a very bad public image and shocking animal cruelty.
The Department of Conservation funded by taxpayers’ money is using public funds in carrying out drops of 1080. Each 1080 drop in total cost (departmental time included) is said to be $2.5 million to $3 million each. That money is a sheer waste because fast breeding rats that inevitably survive will breed at maximum pace as Nature seeks to recover its numbers within two years.
Analysis of the frequency of 1080 drops shows a pattern of DOC returning to poison again, usually two to four years after the last poison drop. In some cases e.g.Lewis Pass (Maruia) it is 12 months.
Pattern Revealed – coming back to drop the poison again
A recent article on the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations website and Scoop News exposes the pattern of DOC having to return after a 1080 drop to poison again.
https://coranz.org.nz/doc-design-or-ignorance-is-farming-rats-and-stoats/
Some “anti-introduced wild animals” advocates may argue that hunters kill a deer for meat and that is cruel. In doing so they remain ignorant of the death of a deer by an accurately placed bullet in contrast to a death by 1080 poison that can take at least 24 hours, not infrequently 48 hours or more.
Similarly a good farmer takes care of his stock and a strong interest in their welfare.
When an animal is killed for meat, he or she does so quickly and quietly with no feeling of guilt or jubilation. So it is with the deerstalker.
Returning to DOC’s increasing 1080 drops that are insensitively carried in November and December the cruelty goes beyond deer. Some birds notably the kea, with its ultra-curious nature, moreporks, falcons and robins all are slowly and cruelly killed by 1080 – and another slow killing toxin brodifacoum.
With both brodifacoum and 1080, any carcasses whether wild animals such as deer or birds remain toxic and any creature scavenging the carcass gets poisoned too.
The hind was killed and the fawn died a slow lingering death by starvation
NZ has been dropping 1080 in huge amounts for at least 40 years. Creatures suffering a terrible death and these bureaucrats know it and “turn the other way” Has there been a huge reduction in the so called pest numbers. NO. So all this cruelty for no result. Minister. Harden up and visit the useless bureaucrats and cull a few of them
The big problem with 1080 it only kills 80% of the rats and then five years later you get a explosion of rats breeding and DOC are back to square one where they started plus 1080 kills all birdlife, deer, pigs and every living life in the bush in a painful agonising death. Where are SPCA on this animal cruelty?