OIA 18-E-1016/ DOC-5653118
14 January 2019
Fred Carter
[email address]
Dear Mr Carter
Thank you for your Official Information Act request to the Department of
Conservation (DOC) dated 29 November 2018.
You requested the following
:
“All the post aerial 1080 poison drop monitoring data (documents or
information) from the Department of Conservation, sub-contractors to the
Department of Conservation, like vector, tb free, ospri and any and all other
sub-contractors who do post 1080 poison drop monitoring work for DOC or
for any of the sub-contractors to DOC, like Ospri, TB free NZ, Vector or any
other company, group or organisation that uses aerial 1080 poison or ground
based 1080 poison who supplies post drop data, for the period from January
1 2017 through to November 29th 2018, showing all bird and animal deaths
found by monitory teams after the 1080 poison drops on the West Coast of the
South Island on DOC land or state forest, public conservation land, including
but not limited to the Mikonui, Totara, Waitaha, Wanganui and Whataroa
faces, and any other poison drops in the stated time frame for the stated area. I
am aware that post drop monitory work has taken place and that bird deaths
including kea or mountain parrot, have been reported, as well as other animals
including large numbers of deer deaths, and would like to see the official
counts please”.
You requested
“all data on non-target kills for 1080 operations on the West Coast
for the period 1 January 2017 to 29 November 2018. This includes data held by DOC
or any other organisation carrying out pest control using 1080”.
Table 1 lists 1080 operations carried out by the Department of Conservation on the
West Coast over the period 1 January 2017 to 29 November 2018. Maps showing the
geographic location of poisoning operations and operational reports are available at
https://www.epa.govt.nz/resources-and-publications/1080-aerial-operators-reports.
Over the specified time period DOC used 1080 to protect native wildlife and forests at
a range of sites across the West Coast. No non-target deaths were reported in any of
these operations. 1080 operations to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis were
also carried out at several sites on the West Coast over the specified time period. DOC
does not hold information for 1080 operations carried out by TBfree NZ Ltd. on the
West Coast. For this information please contact Ospr
i https://ospri.co.nz/.
“
I am aware that post drop monitory work has taken place and that bird deaths
including kea or mountain parrot, have been reported, as well as other animals
including large numbers of deer deaths, and would like to see the official counts
please”
Kea (
Nestor notabilis) are nationally endangered and need protection from
introduced pests to ensure their survival. Eggs and chicks are vulnerable to predation
at the nest and increased adult predation occurs during stoat irruptions. Kea can also
be vulnerable to pest management tools, including aerially applied 1080 baits. DOC
has a code of practice designed to make best use of aerially applied 1080 for pest
management whilst minimising impacts on kea populations long term. By-kill of
stoats from aerial 1080 operations targeting rodents and possums during mast years is
the best tool currently available to protect kea from stoat irruptions
. Kea survival has
been monitored through fourteen aerial 1080 cereal operations since 2008.
The following document details the results of this monitoring:
Item Date
Document
Decision
1
21 September
Kemp JR, Mosen CC, Elliott GP, Hunter CM,
Released in
2018
van Klink P 2018. Kea survival during aerial
full
poisoning for rat and possum control. New
Zealand Journal of Ecology 43:1-11.
If you wish to discuss this with the Department, please contact Fiona Anderson by
ema
il [email address]
Yours sincerely
Mark Davies
Director Operations, Western South Island.
Table1: Department of Conservation West Coast 1080 operations 1 January 2017 to 29 November 2018
