The first tuatara was poisoned with brodifacoum at Natureland zoo in August 2017 around the time when the Brook community was in court trying to stop the poisoning of the Brook Sanctuary.
I’ve recently obtained OIA information from DoC which shows they knew about the wide array of wildlife and insects which are susceptible to poisoning from brodifacoum cereal baits since the 1990s.
The long list includes Kiwi, Kaka, Tui, Kakariki, Morepork, Weka, Saddleback and also many of their food sources such as beetles, cockroaches, weta and other invertebrates. In one poisoned weta the brodifacoum poison had bioaccumulated to 7.47mg/kg.
I’m waiting for an explanation from DoC as to why they continue to use brodifacoum when they know it bioaccumulates and contaminates the food chain. I’m also waiting to hear any explanation why the same species dont eat cereal baits that contain 1080 poison.
We cannot keep contaminating our wildlife or food chain with poison that has sublethal effects on fertility when it does not kill.
We all want to protect our native birds. the disagreement is about how best this can be achieved. Surely healthy and sustainable waterways, food-chain and ecosystems are more important than a former Prime Minister’s Predator Free vision that he thrust on us without any consultation.
Its time to stop the unwinnable war on nature and the civil war it is creating, and instead find solutions that are socially acceptable and work with nature to promote community and environmental wellbeing.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/113989565/picture-of-poisoned-blue-cockroach-watershed-moment-in-tuatara-deaths
Totally agree. I wrote a poem about this :
Ancient Creatures
Tuatara ancient creature now protected
Cockroaches ancient creature now infected
full of slimy green Pest-off pesticide;
Tuatara eats cockroach, starts to bleed inside.
Tuatara now joins the other ones who’ve died.
Nelson zoo director says he’s never heard or seen
brodifacoum til recently – mate, where’ve you been?
This has been known about for years!
Scientists warned us long ago
about moreporks eating poisoned rats.
Ruru have eaten rats for centuries, we knew that;
so why allow this residual crap
in every home as well as your local zoo?
Buy it at the supermarket along with your bread,
while you’re at it grab a Pest-off packet or two.
It’s now legal to drop it from helicoptors over
fenced “sanctuaries” like the Brook,
but that’s not a holy place in my book –
rather it’s defiled, by poison, money, corporate fantasy.
Even the Law of the Land was changed, and it’s a fact
the new rules are contrary to the purpose of the Act,
so that poison bombs can extend their range,
never mind collateral contamination,
“All Hail our Glorious Predator-Free Nation!”
Do you include native predators, karearea and ruru
in your target list? But surely that’s absurd.
Is it not biology 101 whether fish or bird,
that the animal kingdom is predators hunting prey
and prey in turn predating night and day?
Circles of life and death ever changing.
With the worst predator of all
our own sad species about to fall
down an apocalypse of our own making.
Unless our better selves rise to take control
hold the tiller, steer the waka, sails unfurl!
to kinder lands and clean pure waters,
to rid this Earth of these poison slaughters.
Awesome Steph. Thank you for sharing this.