1080 report shows poison being used responsibly

The latest report by the Environmental Protection Authority on the use of 1080 in New Zealand provides further reassurance to the public that the poison is safe and is being used responsibly, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“1080 is a vital tool in protecting our native wildlife, like Kiwi, and preventing the spread of bovine tuberculosis. The area of land treated has doubled to almost one million hectares because of the “Battle for our Birds” but with very few incidents. This is a huge credit to the professionalism of the Department of Conservation (DOC) and TBFree New Zealand.

“Calls for a ban on the use of 1080 are ill-informed and would cause huge environmental problems. The result would be millions more possums and rats, far fewer native birds and TB would infect far more of our cattle,” Dr Smith says.

This latest annual EPA report on the use of 1080 in 2014 comes on top of comprehensive previous assessments and reports by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

“We have high expectations of TBfree New Zealand and of DOC being able to maintain these high levels of compliance with the 1080 regulations with further expanded use expected.”