Poison peril in our parks

It's deadly to rodents and other small animals, so is it safe to use around our kids? Debrin Foxcroft rats out the truth about the what's being used to control vermin in our playgrounds
Neo the cat is very good at catching rats. But his owner, Sarah Ferguson, hopes he's not catching the rats down the road at Little Shoal Bay Park right now.
That's because the rats around the reserve are all being slowly poisoned.
For the next six months, the park will be laced with brodifacoum - deadly to rats, possums and other small animals.
``But how come it hurts rats and not small children?' she asks.
``How do we know this for certain?'
Until contacted by The Aucklander, Ms Ferguson and other residents were not aware of the poisoning regime.
Locals weren't notified and the only sign in the park is easily overlooked.
The notice tells park users the poisoning will be carried out from April 10 to October 10. It says the poison will be put in tamper-proof containers to protect children, but warns dogs need to be kept on a leash.
``Winter is a good time to lay poison in a park I guess,' says Ms Ferguson. ``There are less children and the rats are out looking for food.'
But that doesn't stop her being concerned.
``My children walk through the park on their way to school and I didn't know,' she says.
Bob Wallace, parks officer for the North Shore City Council, says the harbour ward has a constant battle with colonies of rats.
``That area is particularly bad,' says Mr Wallace. ``There is a lot of bush,
reserves and estuaries. We regularly get calls about rats.'
The council is especially concerned about the rat population when they breed near playgrounds and children's areas, says Mr Wallace. Apparently, the rats on the North Shore can also get very big.
Mr Wallace says six months may seem like a long time, but a quick cull of the current rat population would have limited success.
``If you just go in there and kill the rats off, the vacancy is filled by rats from surrounding areas,' he says. ``That's why we carry out a six-month programme. We will never achieve a complete eradication of rats in the harbour ward - that's wishful thinking - but we are trying to reduce the problem.'
A Department of Conservation fact-sheet on brodifacoum, the poison being used to target the rats, says the risk to human health is very low in well-planned and controlled operations.
But domestic animals are at risk, according to the the department, and should not be allowed in areas where they may come into contact with brodifacoum or poisoned carcasses.
Native species have also died in areas where brodifacoum has been used. But, according to department fact-sheet, the long-term value of eradicating the rats outweighs the short-term loss of some native animals.
Mr Wallace believes this is the best way to tackle the North Shore's rat infestation. ``We use a company to carry out the poisoning. They are the best out there and they will be using the most effective method to deal with this problem.'
Rats at Onepoto Domain and Rosedale Park are also being targeted. debrin.foxcroft@theaucklander. co.nz
14 05 2009