By ANNE BESTON
Plans to drop 35 tonnes of toxic rat bait pellets on Auckland's most important wildlife sanctuary is causing debate among conservationists and has drawn fire from Maori.
The Department of Conservation wants resource consent to carry out an aerial drop of the rat poison brodifacoum over Little Barrier
Island (Hauturu) to wipe out the Polynesian rat, kiore.
But the plan worries conservation group Friends of the Earth and has angered local Maori.
Friends of the Earth co-director Bob Tait said his organisation was worried about the threat to non-target species from the $300,000 operation.
DoC communications manager in Auckland, Warwick Murray, admitted some New Zealand native birds were likely to be killed by the bait drop but their numbers would quickly recover "within a year or two".
They included saddleback, robins and pukeko.
He said that two of the most endangered species on the 2817ha island, tuatara and the brown teal (duck), would be kept in captivity on the island until the bait pellets had broken down and were no longer a danger.
Mr Tait said the department was using far more bait then it needed and concerns continued about some of the large poison drops by DoC on the islands.
About 12kg per ha of pellets will be dropped on Little Barrier.
Ngati Wai Trust Board member Hore Parata said he wanted the department to opt for control of kiore rather than wiping them out.
Kiore arrived with early Maori and are taonga, or treasure, to tangata whenua.
But Mr Murray said the department did not want to opt for control of the rats because their numbers would recover.
He said monitoring showed the rats ate the eggs and young of threatened species, in particular titi (Cook's petrel).
Other species at risk were rare gecko, tuatara and giant weta.
About 40 tuatara are held in a "tuaterium" on the island to protect them from predators but the plan is to establish a population on the island.
Forest and Bird welcomed the eradication programme.
It said it was "delighted" that tuatara and other native species would be able to thrive without kiore.
DoC has cleared Kapiti Island, near Wellington, and Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf of kiore.
nzherald.co.nz/environment
