Thread: Its happening now part of history.

Great post @ghosts , NZ pest free 2050...they are dreaming , no rats on Rakiura an impossible task I would of thought also , and at what cost , the pros and cons of the green pellets have been the subject of many debates , you would think there would be a better solution but no-one has got one yet, , there was mutterings that someone was working on a way of making possums sterile , imagine the Australians biosecurity of that crossing the borders into their land where they prize the little possum .

last I heard on that one Lucky went like- we have the way to make possums sterile - what we dont have is a safe carrier to get it to the possums - and it will likely only be like a bait one dose one sterile possum not something that is going to spread thru the population like a virus - when one looks at that scenario then it has to pass serious criteria - it would have to be host specific i.e just possums affected - it wont mutate and turn itself into something else - it wont jump species and start effecting say sheep - its safe to humans - so yes I believe a small team is or was looking at it though but big obstacles

Originally Posted by Lucky

Great post @ghosts , NZ pest free 2050...they are dreaming , no rats on Rakiura an impossible task I would of thought also , and at what cost , the pros and cons of the green pellets have been the subject of many debates , you would think there would be a better solution but no-one has got one yet, , there was mutterings that someone was working on a way of making possums sterile , imagine the Australians biosecurity of that crossing the borders into their land where they prize the little possum .

The govt has shares in 1080.they make money with your mony.
But yes if you keep doing the same and getting the same result then its time to change.
After someting like 75 yrs of use and the change isnt coming then its your duty to make sure ???

Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

The govt has shares in 1080.they make money with your mony.
But yes if you keep doing the same and getting the same result then its time to change.
After someting like 75 yrs of use and the change isnt coming then its your duty to make sure ???

ok then....so you want change. Open your eyes.what is being done/ attempted IS CHANGE....it might not be the right one,but it's a change from doing faff all,to trying something big.and in these tight fiscal times,the boffins in high places and the bean counters across the board will be watching very very closely. The backlash already about putting a $40 charge on tourists in certain areas,shows the general public and media are watching too.... Personally I think they are on right track on that one but a blanket $100 at border for ALL non resident folks entering country everytime they do so would be vastly better and easier/ cheaper to do. I do not like 1080...never have and never will,I'm a dog person. But is we do not do " something" the battle will be lost before a shot is fired,every year we wait for something better so do nothing,the numbers swing further against the remaining few threatened species. Do I think they can make whole place predator free??? Not a shit show....but they can make a good attempt to hold the line and indeed push it back a bit further towards it.

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.

Bit like boy racers

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!

Originally Posted by Puddleduk

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!

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

Originally Posted by woods223

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?

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.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

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.

I was told by OSPRI the newest deer repellent baits(Prodeer?)cost no more than the standard baits. Unlike the Epro ones the repellent was added during manufacturing not another whole process afterwards. They inferred that there was no longer any reason not to use it.

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.