dying to save them
I just don't understand why keas have to die to test whether 1080 baits are attractive to them or not. Can we not test these baits first or is that too hard. I know the arguments around 1080, the improvements in the forest and native species, the birdsong and the flowers - but I cannot reconcile throwing poison into the environment to kill them - it just seems like more hubris from people rather than looking, listening and learning from Mother Nature. After all, stoats were brought here deliberately by the colonists to help sort the rabbits out, which were brought here deliberately - the solution created more problems than the original problem and that's because nature wasn't considered at all - it was just a thing that could be managed, manipulated and mangled to achieve man's ends. That worldview is destructive to our environment and society - it distances us from ourselves and our heritage as living organisms within the total ecosystem. That worldview considers us seperate from nature and is in opposition to indigenous worldviews where the holistic nature of reality is endorsed.
ODT
Department of Conservation has reported the deaths of seven keas following a recent 1080 pest control operation on the West Coast that was designed to prevent the birds eating poison baits. They follow seven kea deaths reported in the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier area in 2008, with the possum-killing 1080 poison pinpointed then as the most likely cause of death.
So sad that these beautiful unique birds have died. I hope we sort this out soon.
6 comments:
that's crazy. Kea do NOT have to die. Where there's a will there's a way, find another way!!!
Hi Marty. It's a tough subject. I don't know the full details here of how the Kea came to be poisoned, but I'm guessing things could be tested and tested yet Kea are so diverse in personality that if there were a small number in a population of several thousand that found 1080 pellets interesting, those ones would probably find a way to get them. 1080 drop methods have changed a lot over the past 20 years as new things have been discovered about how native wildlife is affected, and hopefully this will also result in some serious re-thinking about how to keep the Kea away.
I really think DoC are just stuck with an historic dilemma here. However they arrived, the rats and possums and stoats are there, and we know they're wreaking havoc on the environment. I think if it's abandoned or if we mess around too long arguing about how to control pests in places that can't be practically reached, the state of the forest and its inhabitants will soon shift from an unhealthy state into something utterly irreversible. I appreciate some people believe 1080 is turning it into that, I just happen to think that at worst it's slowing down something that would otherwise occur quickly.
I still see this as a lesser evil than laws as recently as a few decades ago that encouraged farmers to go out and shoot all the Kea that they thought might be nicking lambs. To get cold-nosed about the whole thing, I think it'd also be necessary to measure how much flora and fauna has been saved or given a better chance through this programme, compared with what would have died or given no chance to be born if 1080 hadn't been used.
As far as I can tell there's still no other way of removing the pests that credibly, actually works. In some places (like near the front country that's accessible) certain kinds of trapping make a practical alternative, but generally I tend to agree with the Forest & Bird line that it's the most effective method right now, at least until something better's available.
Thanks Charlotte we will.
Mike yes it is tough - How hard we are actually looking for alternatives? I'll have to investigate but perhaps because 1080 is effective - notwithstanding collateral damage or the general principle of using a poison - then there is a degree of the 'devil you know'. Is our situation here so unique that we have to keep that 1080 factory going? I just don't know but I totally agree that we seem to have little choice at the moment - 'seem' being the operative word.
Hi Marty. Yeah it's true about the alternatives. I think everyone sane who's in favour of 1080 use recognises that it's really only the lesser of two evils and would leap on a suitable alternative. NZ also has the problem that our conservation issues are unique to the world, so there's less chance of being able to piggy-back on research from overseas. Weirdly we're one of the only places in the world where 1080 tends to generally work without a big negative impact on native animals, as long as it's used in certain ways, just because it's mostly land mammals that it attracts and we have almost no native mammals.
I don't know what we're doing to find alternatives, but I'd have trouble believing nobody's doing anything. Yes there are politics and funding issues involved. The whole reason I've been stuck living in Melbourne since January when I'd much rather be living at home is because NZ has an aversion towards throwing money at science unless good results can be guaranteed before the research has even started. :( I'd be very surprised, though, if DOC and probably others weren't seriously interested in pursuing anything that suggested it might help as an alternative to 1080. Short of an alternative poison or some kind of terrifying genetic super-bug that wipes out predators, it's tough to imagine what that might be.
For some contrast to the recent 1080 kea poisonings, here's a report from last June's Federated Mountain Club Newsletter (pdf link), lifted from the March Waimea Tramping Club newsletter. I think a few of the anti-1080 activists I've seen, who unconditionally despise DOC, would put this down to DOC propaganda trying to justify 1080 use, but from the people I know who are into this kind of work I find it very hard to believe:
"KEA NUMBERS DECLINE AT NELSON LAKES
"A survey undertaken in January shows a marked decline in the kea population of Nelson Lakes National Park. In the ten-day search over 14,000 hectares, only two fledglings were found from three breeding pairs. This compares with ten fledglings from eleven breeding pairs found during a 1990s study.
"DOC fears that predators such as possums, stoats and rats are decimating kea, despite the 'revive Rotoiti' trapping programme. Many of the ground nests of kea lie outside the trapping zone. Lead poisoning resulting when the birds eat lead nails and flashings from old buildings also contributes to mortality. DOC has replaced lead components on buildings, including ten huts in the Nelson-Marlborough area.
"Intensive predator control in the Hawdon Valley of Arthur's Pass National Park showed benefits for many bird species, and kea numbers remain relatively healthy there. But lack of funding does not allow this intensity of work in Nelson Lakes."
Our conservation land is a painful mess with no equilibrium, and it'll be hard to fix if that's even possible.
Hi Marty. Sorry I tried to post a few days ago but it doesn't seem to have stuck somehow.
One of the complains I've heard, which seems at least practical, is that DoC shouldn't be using air-dropped 1080 baits near front-country areas, when these can be laid by hand (with more control). I think this is what the Green Party is currently pushing for as at least a temporary compromise while we look for useful alternatives. The research into alternatives isn't something I've been following lately and I couldn't comment on that, except I hope like hell that it's happening. It's an unfortunate reality that NZ doesn't allocate much for research funding, and much of what's allocated tends to be aimed in directions where useful results are near-promised before any money's handed over (?!). I'd be surprised if DoC and other agencies didn't throw resources at potential alternatives if they looked promising.
For some contrast to the recent Kea deaths, though, here's a passage lifted from the June 2011 Federated Mountain Clubs bulletin (page 19), which originally appeared in the Waimea Tramping Club newsletter from March:
KEA NUMBERS DECLINE AT NELSON LAKES
A survey undertaken in January shows a marked decline in the kea population of Nelson Lakes National Park. In the ten-day search over 14,000 hectares, only two fledglings were found from three breeding pairs. This compares with ten fledglings from eleven breeding pairs found during a 1990s study.
DOC fears that predators such as possums, stoats, and rats are decimating kea, despite the ‘Revive Rotoiti’ trapping programme. Many of the ground nests of kea lie outside the trapping zone. Lead poisoning resulting when the birds eat lead nails and flashings from old buildings also contributes to mortality. DOC has replaced lead components on buildings, including ten huts in the Nelson-Marlborough area.
Intensive predator control in the Hawdon Valley of Arthur’s Pass National Park showed benefits for many bird species, and kea numbers remain relatively healthy there. But lack of funding does not allow this intensity of work in Nelson Lakes.
sorry about that mike I found a few comments in spam - should check it a bit more - kia kaha
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