Protect the birds by removing the rats that the feral cats feed on?
Be interesting to see how this works out.
Seems to me they should be putting the poison into balls of jelly meat.
yes jelly meat that may work but needs to be presented in a way that only cats get it - some birds would be into it - moreporks for example - whatever to get the cats aerial 1080 on its own wont do it combined trapping baiting will be required
if it works the end result would be fantastic. they could release a lot native species that may need a large area and thus unsuitable for small offshore islands.
MD makes an interesting point about holding the line. We built a firstly deer proof then upgraded to rat/possum/cat? proof fence on the island. The pest managers thinking was to defend at the fence and behind it (reinvasion round the seaward ends was always going to be a thing).
However anyone who has studied WW1&2 knows that he who "owns" the territory to your front by patrolling etc wins. I'd say the same with pests, ya gotta "own" everything to your front, and to considerable depth.
well TeRei many let tiddles out for exercise but have no idea what tiddles is doing think Tiddles is doing a great job when it turns up with a rat but what else is it killing
Bit like boy racers![]()
Summer grass
Of stalwart warriors splendid dreams
the aftermath.
Matsuo Basho.
A few years back there was a dog roaming around Tekuiti munching cats.
All the the cat lovers were jumping up and down about this dog roaming around at night killing things, and that people should control their dogs.
So they could safely put tiddles out at night (to roam about killing things).
Overkill is still dead.
In 2017 OSPRI told myself in front of others at a public meeting that the poison drop on Molesworth would kill 20-30% of the deer. I told them to expect 100%, some of the OSPRI team smirked and shook their heads over that comment. End result I think was 95% +/- 5%
I wonder what the locals who are concerned about the whitetail have been told.
One thing though the deer that survive this drop...and the next....and more after that will be in better condition!
Face facts.
1080 is not going away until a viable cost effective alternative is found (which is a whole separate and debatable topic).
The best thing people apposed to 1080 because of the deer by kill can do is stump up with the funding for deer repellent.
If they spent the same amount of time searching for funds as they do whining about it, it may happen.
If they front up with the money, the authorities will have to start listening.
Overkill is still dead.
I was just down there and there's defintaly major issues.
The numbers of small birds like wax eyes and tom tits are not what I'd call high. Others like kakariki are doing great.
Now to be fair, the rats problem was shocking. Worst ive ever seen.
We came out one morning and there was foot wide roads around the beach with thousands and thousands of prints. They had dug holes all around the boat and under it. It was unbelievable.
We killed a few. I shot one cat and saw another. Our cams caught cats and rats as well.
Id prefer it wasn't done, but I'll be interested if they really do some good work checking the science with tunnel counts and cam work. Of course I'm assuming they aren't going to display that info to portray what they'd like to see.
Final figure was something like 88% fewer deer on poisoned blocks, about 1/3 of Station area, compared to unpoisoned blocks according to results of Marlborough branch NSDA survey and Landcare Research survey. NZDA results are still probably available for members, Landcare results available at: ctbfree-reports-for-uploading-into-datasets-for-doi-assignmentlc3159-morriss-r-10810-molesworth-.pdf
Marlborough NZDA did a great job on that survey.
And if Im correct the sewing rate on Molsworth was higher than "normal"? Possibly higher than Rakiura? This from Marborough NZDA facebook: "The sow rate used for battle for our birds is 1kg/ha, where as in the Molesworth they are using 2kg/ha as the sow rate".
Edit later:
The sow rate for 1080 poison drops on Rakiura (Stewart Island) is being planned for a two-phased approach, with the first phase at a higher density (4kg/ha) and the second at a lower density (2kg/ha).
OUCH
The Haurangi's have been pounded with 1080 for many years but mostly repellent has been used. There are are heaps of deer in there still. Possibly too many.
We should always lobby for repellent. I think it costs about $6 hectare?
Last edited by Tahr; 05-08-2025 at 02:16 PM.
Restraint is the better part of dignity. Don't justify getting even. Do not do unto others as they do unto you if it will cause harm.
Well let's all hope like heck that 6kgs per hectare kills a hell of a lot of rats n possums with cats as bi- kill....and the deer bounce back.
75/15/10 black powder matters
Bookmarks