It’s been said many times: “We don’t know how lucky we are.” New Zealand is home to amazing plants and animals that are found nowhere else in the world. Our luck may run out, though, if we don’t do something about the threats posed by introduced pests such as possums, deer, stoats and rats. Already many species have become extinct, and many more remain under threat, including the kakapo, kokako and our national bird, the kiwi.
Damage by browsing possums and deer also wipes out native species such as rata and native mistletoe, and can even lead to complete collapse of forests. Pest control is essential if we want to keep forests healthy and bring many of our unique native species back from the brink of extinction.
Trapping, bait stations, and hunting all play their part in pest control; however, according to Forest & Bird, aerial application of 1080 is the most effective way to cover our large expanses of forests, especially as many of our forests are in rugged and inaccessible parts of New Zealand. If we don’t continue to use 1080, the most effective pest control that currently exists, there is a chance that New Zealand’s forests may fall silent within 20 years