Support for poison gets broad welcome

Large redwoods. Photo / Hawkes Bay Today

The Government, the Green Party, Federated Farmers and Forest and Bird have welcomed a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment that backs the use of the poison 1080.

Forests could fall silent unless the use of 1080 was stepped up to help save native birds, commissioner Jan Wright said in her report, released yesterday.

Dr Wright compared 1080 with other pest-control methods on the basis of safety, effectiveness and cost.

She recommended against a moratorium on its use, as proposed in a bill by Maori Party MP Rahui Katene.

Dr Wright said that in researching the issue she had been surprised at the effectiveness of 1080.

"Possums, rats and stoats are chewing up our forests to the point that we are only a generation away from regional extinctions of kiwi and other native species where no pest control is carried out," she said.

Other pest control methods were more suitable than 1080 in certain circumstances, "but on much of our conservation land there is nothing else that will effectively kill possums, rats and stoats".

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson said 1080 had been shown to be the most effective tool available for pest management.

"Only the introduced predators will benefit from a moratorium, which I agree isn't needed."

Federated Farmers and Forest and Bird said in a joint statement that they supported Dr Wright.

"Her well-researched report showed clearly that 1080 was a lifeline for New Zealand's endangered native birds and forests," they said.

"The great thing about this report is that anyone who has concerns about the use of 1080 can access the information and make up their minds based on the evidence."

The Green Party welcomed the report but said it was committed to finding alternatives to the poison.

Conservation spokesman Kevin Hague said a $4 million pilot project using new, resetting traps had been established under an agreement between the Greens and the Government and research was being done into alternative non-toxic control measures to deal with pests.

Dr Wright said in her report she had expected to see more of a downside and bigger risks from 1080 use, but its use had changed in recent years.

Less poison was now being dropped per hectare and its use was more controlled.

Although 1080 was potentially deadly to people there was "very, very low risk" that anyone could accidentally die from its current use.

Labour conservation spokeswoman Ruth Dyson said she strongly supported the recommendations.

But United Future leader Peter Dunne said the report was a "kick in the guts for many of our provincial communities".

He said he supported more investment in researching and developing alternatives for effective pest control.

The report recommended the Minister for the Environment investigate simplifying and standardising the way 1080 and other poisons were managed under the Resource Management Act and other laws.

- NZPA