The Green Room
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/978/146/659
Apart from the hard and cruelty to our animals, this poisoning does.... if it actually got out there in the big wild world, what harm it would do our tourism. I am pleased to see this on a US site.. perhaps it is getting out there.
What a shame that this petition is incorrect. Over 200 kiwi have been monitored (through radio tracking) after 1080 drops and not one of them has ever been killed as a result of 1080.
What we do know is that in areas without any pest control, 95% of kiwi chicks die. In areas like the Tongariro Forest Park, 70% of them survive due to 1080 operations.
I am really sad that so much misinformation on this controversial issue might put our precious native wildlife at risk.
I do understand that 1080 is a controversial issue - but the key here is for all of us to learn more about the issue (plummeting survival of our unique native wildlife due to predation), and more about the variety of controls used to help stop them from heading toward extinction. This includes ground control (by far the vast majority of pest control operations), aerial use of 1080 and other toxins, trapping (difficult and inefficient in remote areas and tough terrain), and five million dollars a year being spent on seeking alternatives.
It's ok to have concerns about something, but i believe that means we should then seek out the facts on the issue not repeat misinformation...
It can be confusing to find accurate information - so I find that the Forest and Bird and Federated Farmers joint site http://www.1080facts.co.nz is useful.
Best regards,
Nicola
As I have signed quite a few online petitions I was sent an email about the anti-1080 one and was shocked at the claims being made. I sent a return email to the petition organiser to ask where she had found her information but I don't know if it will reach her. Nicola, do you know whether this sort of thing is likely to have an effect on politicians here, and if so, is there anything people can do?
@Wallaroony Just seen your post. I tried to msg the petition organiser too, but couldn't find the details. To make a comment, i had to add my name to the signatories. Luckily, it gives you the space to make a comment, and this comment is published on the page. Hopefully, would-be petitioners will read this before they sign. It would be good to get a few more 'voices of reason' to post similar!
"How many people signing this petition have checked the claims they are making? There is absolutely no evidence that 1080 has killed 'kiwi birds' (we call them plain old kiwi here!); GPs technology, behavioural studies of target species and the use of repellants to deter non-target species mean that these drops are extremely targeted. The organisations carrying out these operations are highly-trained and follow extremely stringent guidelines. The toxin is used, reluctantly, as a last-ditch attempt to control pest species like possums that are destroying NZ's unique native forest. There is absolutely NO RISK to humans or other animals from 1080 accidentally entering waterways."
I noticed that the minority of signatories on that petition are actually from New Zealand. So we've got the majority of people signing probably with no idea about how 1080 is used here or even why..
@Ricky - yes, even if these people are, indeed, real I can't imagine what the petitioners hope to achieve by gathering signatories from places like Romania and Macedonia!
I wrote the the petition sponsor to ask where they got their 'facts' from - no response of course. Luckily, this kind of bandwaggon-jumping "armchair activism" is pretty harmless - here's an interesting article on the subject http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-activism-pitfalls-2010-05
How come come so many people think 1080 kills hundreds of kiwi? What about the german shepherd that killed 500 kiwi in Waitangi state forest in the late eighties and dogs are still killing kiwi in forests where law enforcement is hard to do? I have seen anti 1080 letters to my editor where the person has said 1080 should be banned because their dogs who was 'innocently' running through the forest and might eat a poisoned possum carcase. I thought Hey! your dog should not even be in the forest. The Northern Hemisphere countries like Romania have native mammals that would be at risk from 1080 but we in NZ only have bats that are in no danger from this.
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