Government Guilty of "Reckless" 1080 Deaths

By NORMAN JONES - Peninsula Press.

The government and its agencies can now be prosecuted and fined up to $350,000 for the suffering and death of animals exposed to 1080 poison...

New legislation to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) policy earlier this year made it an offense to kill through the ‘reckless’ use of 1080.

And with a  Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) statement saying that one agency - the Department of Conservation (DOC) - are effectively ‘drift netting’ forests "... causing uncounted deaths of both indigenous and introduced species," legislation has to be put into place to stop this widespread 'illegal' suffering of animals.

Speaking this week, Robyn Kippenberger, National Chief Executive, Royal New Zealand SPCA said “Whilst there is no provision in the AWA 1999 to take action on the poisoning of a ‘pest animal’ ... amendments to the legislation in July of this year provide for the reckless ill-treatment of any animal.  

"Should an operator be reckless in the application of 1080 (i.e. outside of the designated boundary) and a domestic or production animal suffers unnecessary pain and suffering as a result, the SPCA would consider prosecuting under *Section 28A of the AWA 1991.

She said the the SPCA, although recognising the need for possum control, urgently urged the government to seek more human alternatives.

“While it is proven that cyanide is a considerably more humane poison to control possums, the SPCA acknowledges that its application in deeply forested areas is not practical.

“The SPCA is totally opposed to the use of 1080 in the control of wild deer as death in this species has been shown to be agonizing and protracted with significant suffering. It is of deep concern that the Department of Conservation are using this method to control deer numbers as 1080 is not licensed as a poison to control this species.”

She added that, “As 1080 is not species specific, the SPCA is extremely concerned by the ‘by-kill’ resulting from the application of 1080.  It is effectively ‘drift netting' of the forest causing uncounted deaths of both indigenous and introduced species.

“Irrespective of all arguments on both sides of the 1080 debate, scientific evidence proves that most affected animals will die an agonising and likely prolonged death.”

To watch a documentary on the use of 1080 poison in New Zealand, please click here. 

 

[Animal Welfare Act:*Section - 28A -  Reckless ill-treatment of animals: (1) A person commits an offence if that person recklessly ill-treats an animal with the result that: (a) the animal is permanently disabled; or (b) the animal dies; or (c) the pain or distress caused to the animal is so great that it is necessary to destroy the animal in order to end its suffering; or (d) the animal is seriously injured or impaired.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(d), an animal is seriously injured or impaired if the injury or impairment: (a) involves - (i) prolonged pain and suffering; or (ii) a substantial risk of death; or (iii) loss of a body part; or (iv) permanent or prolonged loss of a bodily function; and (b) requires treatment by or under the supervision of a veterinarian. (3) A person who commits an offence against this section is liable on conviction on indictment - (a) in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to a fine not exceeding $75,000 or to both:

(b) in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $350,000.

Section 28A: inserted, on 7 July 2010, by section 5  HYPERLINK "http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1999/0142/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2747709#DLM2747709" http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1999/0142/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2747709#DLM2747709 of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 93).

Animal welfare overlooked in PCE report

Carrots being prepared for aerial poisoning
drop.  Kahurangi National Park.

Last week the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released her report on the use of 1080 poison in New Zealand.

Many believed this was just another smoke screen orchestrated by the 1080 industry to try to allay growing concern and outrage in opposition to their poison operations. It appears these people were right.

When dropped from the air, the poison lands in the canopies of trees, all across the forest floor, and directly into mountain streams.

Dust from the drops has been reported (www.1080science.co.nz) to spread at least 1km from the drop zone. 1080 is deadly to all air breathing organisms - 1080 is also a broad spectrum insecticide.

The users of 1080 avoid the animal welfare issue associated with its use, at all costs.

Scientists state that about 50% of deer populations are poisoned in aerial operations.

We have filmed many dead deer after 1080 operations. In most cases it is clear they die in horrific circumstances. The extent of this wildlife atrocity is enormous.

Scientists estimate the annual kill of deer through aerial poison drops is over 20,000. When carrots baits are used, the figure is higher.

In late 2010 we were filming a posion drop that covered 90,000 hectares across the pristine Westland National Park area.



We conducted a necropsy on a dead hind we found, clearly killed by the poisoning operation. The necropsy was filmed, edited and delivered to the PCE in the belief that it may be taken into account, and that the welfare of animals would be an important consideration, to go with the other, overwhelming evidence against 1080.

Once again, we were wrong. The power of bureaucracy is profound, and profoundly ruthless.

It should be noted that it is illegal to poison deer, pigs, goats, horses, cows, sheep, birds, dogs, cats, aquatic life, insects, bats, people, etc. etc... Yet, all these species have been killed, some in high numbers, in aerial poison operations.

Animals that are killed, and there's lots of them, are left to decompose where they die - be that a rat in a stream, or a deer on a river bed. 

Animals that die, contain the poison in their carcass. This picture of an endemic Weka feeding on a possum carcass, possibly poisoned, demonstrates how the poison travels up the food chain.

All this was ignored by the PCE report.

Decomposition of carcasses can take months, to years, in dry conditions. This deer was photographed 4 months after the photo of the same deer, above. The poison that killed it is retained in its carcass, poisoning anything that consumes it - sublethally, or lethally.

And if all these images don't spell out the story, plain and simple, there's also the issue of misleading our tourists. Come to New Zealand, we're clean and green, our advertisements claim! 

The following photo is of a poison sign stapled to a camp-ground sign, in a popular north island tourist spot. 

Are we a joke New Zealand? I think so!

To get the full story, click the link below to watch Poisoning Paradise ...

"78 sheep dying after grazing an airstrip ... 20 weeks after the operation"

The launch of www.1080science.co.nz is a valuable addition to the abundant evidence mounting against the use of 1080 poison in New Zealand. If you had any doubt about the humaneness of 1080, click on the animal welfare link on the site.

For example, the scientific evidence presented to the ERMA review on 1080 states that the time to death, from ingestion, for one of the target species - the Brushtail Possum - pictured here - (native to Australia) - is from 5, to 97 hours! 

How about  - 14.4 to 522.5 hours (that's 21 days) - for the Blue Tongued Lizard! 

If that doesn't get you, how about ... "cases included ... 150 sheep dying 10 weeks after toxic carrot had been laid in paddocks ...78 sheep dying after grazing an airstrip used to load toxic carrot bait ... 20 weeks after the operation."

And our own PCE (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment) wants us to drop MORE 1080 poison, and inflict more of this outrageous animal cruelty! I rest my case.


Good on Dr. Jo Pollard for highlighting these issues, a great New Zealander!

The following is the introduction to the site www.1080science.co.nz ...

This Index demonstrates:

1. The appalling quality of the data used by ERMA in making its decision and setting controls.

2. The risks to biodiversity and human health caused by 1080.

3. The paucity of valid data supporting the use of 1080 by the Department of Conservation (DoC) or the Animal Health Board (AHB).

The Index was designed to make access to the information used by ERMA easy and fast. It is arranged into 48 subject sections (e.g. bats, invertebrates, Tb). Each section contains quotes from the following documents, in turn:

1. Agency’s Appendices A-T (the information gathered for ERMA’s Committee by ERMA’s Agency)

2. Applicants’ References (scientific references supplied by DoC and the AHB)

3. Submitters

4. Committee Decision

For each subject, the quotes from the Committee Decision come last, so you can examine how the Committee has responded to the information given to it.

It is intended that the quotes in this index are not used in isolation but as a means of accessing the information used by ERMA. For each quote in the Index the name of the original document and the page number are provided so you can find it in the original document (available on the ERMA website www.erma.govt.nz .

www.1080science.co.nz

SPCA invites The Graf Boys to speak to their inspectors

Steve and I were invited by the SPCA to do a presentation for the North Island Inspectors and Centre Management Workshop 2010 conference held in Taupo, which covered Saturday and Sunday. We used a PowerPoint presentation, photos, and also showed the first 15 minutes of Poisoning Paradise, which included some of the animal welfare issues. About 70 inspectors from across the North Island, and a couple visiting from Australia, attended the 90 minute presentation.

Anti-1080 Taupo mayor Rick Cooper was also present, and addressed the crowd. The overall presentation went well, with a good number of the inspectors showing genuine interest and concern. It was interesting to note that only about 10% of the inspectors had seen Poisoning Paradise. Rick Cooper offered to have copies of Poisoning Paradise duplicated and supplied to the inspectors. As a result of this opportunity, I believe we will start to see more action from SPCA.

We later listened to a presentation from visiting American forensic scientist and entomologist (insects) Dr. Jason Byrd, who is also a member of the American SPCA. He investigates crime scene forensic cases, and is employed by a university in Florida, I think he said. He appeared on TVone's Closeup tonight. He showed similar concern to the aerial use of 1080 as Dr's Pat and Quinn Whiting-Okeefe, and other scientists and experts, in regard to dropping food, laced with poison, into an ecosystem.

Dr Byrd has agreed to be interviewed for the new doco we are working on, due for release next year.
He raised similar concerns to the late Mike Meads (who was also an entomologist), in regard to the Krebs cycle and how the Krebs cycle is a process used by most organisms. Even the ones that break 1080 down. He suggested that when the 1080 is broken down it is possibly changed into some other toxic entity.

Dr Byrd pointed out that our native koura, among other things, will most likely be affected, and killed by 1080, if enough is eaten - whereas our DoC denies 1080 harms koura. DoC claims koura can eat 1080, and just pass it out with no harm being done. We dispute this, and believe it should be researched further, as where koura are present, they are poisoned in all streams 3 metres in width and under, on all aerial drops where cereal bait is used. They are also a food source for other animals and fish.

Dr Byrd also pointed out that plants have a Krebs cycle, and depending on dose, could be negatively affected by up taking 1080. (Once again, depending on dose) This could translate into poor flowering, or growth for example. Admittedly DoC have continued to drop their application doses more and more over recent years. I believe this is because they have still not been able to find benefit, and only harm is being realised. I think when DoC get to the stage where they go so light in dose, that they aren't actually dropping the poison at all - is when they will find benefit.

After all, up until the 80's, when 1080 had never been used over much of the country, and even when wild animal numbers were high, and had been so for many years, the forests were in a far better state than they are now, including higher presence of bird numbers, and species - when compared to areas where 1080 has been repeatedly used.

CLICK HERE TO SEE US BILL TO BAN 1080

GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE PENALTY FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY

Good on the government, who are about to pass a bill that increases the penalty for animal cruelty, from 3 years to 5 years imprisonment, for extreme cases. That's all very nice.....to the naive!

However, it is the New Zealand Government that inflicts the greatest crimes against animals in this country.
Through the use of their aerial poisoning operations (1080 & Brodificoum) they kill and torment 100's of thousands of animals, birds, insects and aquatic life every year, in a way that, if viewed on television, would make the hardest slaughter man feel sorrow.

But, just in case you don't believe me, please take the time to watch the following clips.
A drop has just taken place on Mt. Taranaki. 33,000 hectares.
The animals who died there, had to endure hours of suffering. Surely you can afford a few minutes to understand what these animals went through?

Obscene Cruelty Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrCQZ1B4ks0

Obscene Cruelty Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gCwIxIOxds

END SONG:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smp2TdbOPaI