"when first choosing a poison we considered brofidacoum but didn't go for it because of its persistance, we have a tiny population of morepork, maybe no more than three and we considered them and chose diphacinone because it would have less impact."
Scientist Graeme Elliott makes the point that there is no evidence that 1080 negatively affects the morepork populations they are monitoring in South Westland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09y8uw5tV6o. They are now carefully studying the degree to which 1080 may in fact benefit moreporks. This project is programmed to last another 3 years.
In the two major natural areas where we (Tawaki's team) have operated over 100 bait stations now for 15 years using Talon/Pest Off (Brodifacoum) we have major populations of morepork and NZ Falcon. They are abundant. So much so that at both locations you step outside at night and will hear 3-4 morepork at any time and see NZ falcon every day. We know the locations of the falcon nests and observe them breeding each year.
The conservation science is also favourable indicating that birds are far less susceptible (1/10,000th) to brodifacoum than are mammals particularly carnivores. The brilliant aspect to Talon/Pest Off is that it is irresistable to rats, possums and mice. As they discovered initially on Whale Island (Bay of Plenty) and later applied on 11,300ha Campbell Island, you can kill every single rat with it..and you also get all the stoat through secondary kill. The vast Macquarie Island is now the focus of an Australian Government funded $40 million pest eradication programme using brodifacoum. Its "persistence" argued to be a negative is in fact a huge positive because it explains why brodiafacoum is so effective in killing stoats through a secondary kill. The stoats eat the dead or slow rats and mice. Their first bits is usually of the rat and mice stomach contects, the soft palatable part of their prey.
DOC nationally totally overreacted some 11 years ago when they stopped the use of Talon/Pest Off on most DOC land. In doing so they removed the single greatest quantum leap in effective integrated NZ pest control. (Paul Jansen Sanderson Memorial Address to Forest and Bird 2006). DOC's decision effectively banished pest control by ordinary people back to the dark ages where we line Connovations (and others) pockets by buying vast amounts of iron trap hardware. Remember individuals unless they have huge training and certification can't really use 1080 safely and nor would we probably wish them to do so.
IN your region Christbluff, It is almost certain that right through South Port at Bluff, in the domestic households, hardware stores and warehouses of Invercargill and across most farms storing any grain in Southland and Otago, Talon/Pest Off will be in widespread and effective use against rodents....so why not on DOC land?
I also presume that around the Scenic Reserve that you are doing a wonderful job trying to protect, there will be nesting Blue Penguins all along the coast and perhaps even some Hoiho/Yellow Eye Penguins. They would enormously benefit from a ban on domestic dogs in this area by the creation of perhaps WIldlife Refuge Status over the Scenic Reserve.
Once dogs were banned from the Scenic Reserve you could really get stuck in to pest control using the most economic, effective and practical means, chemical pest control.
