Thread: SPCA call out 1080 for what it is - good on you !!

Possums and stoats require a generous and sustained application of capitalism. Rewarding hunting/trapping eradication efforts.

I propose a controlled experiment - first wave Stewart Island, originally known as NZs South Island. Only ONE measure of success allowed: a growing native bird population. If after 10 years it is successful, move on up to the main island, NZ Middle Island, with a more expensive, larger scheme and lessons learnt.

How would such a scheme look like? What sort of reward per rat, possum or rabbit would make it worthwhile? What do farmers currently pay pest controllers per rabbit?

Originally Posted by Cordite

Possums and stoats require a generous and sustained application of capitalism. Rewarding hunting/trapping eradication efforts.

I a controlled experiment - first wave Stewart Island, originally known as NZs South Island. Only ONE measure of success allowed: a growing native bird population. If after 10 years it is successful, move on up to the main island, NZ Middle Island, with a more expensive, larger scheme and lessons learnt.

How would such a scheme look?

You can't eradicate with trapping unfortunately. You might get 90 percent but the last 10 percent will take a huge proportion of your resources.
Trapping can be ineffective too. In Okarito back in the early 2000s i trapped stoats. It was a mast year an we caught hundreds of stoats. All the monitored kiwi chicks got eaten bar one. It survived because it was relocated to a pest free island.
1080 is also only suited for control. The reason for this is trap and bait shyness. 1080 is an acute toxin so if an animal recieves a sub lethal dose it will associate the bait it ate with what made it sick.
Brodificoum is used because it is a chronic toxin. It takes days to work and so when the animal gets sick it doesn't associate the bait with what made it ill.
Eradication jobs on offshore islands all use brodificoum.
Doc don't use it on the mainland though (Mainland islands being an exception) because it's such bad shit.
It ain't simple despite what some will have you believe.

Originally Posted by Cordite

Possums and stoats require a generous and sustained application of capitalism. Rewarding hunting/trapping eradication efforts.

I propose a controlled experiment - first wave Stewart Island, originally known as NZs South Island. Only ONE measure of success allowed: a growing native bird population. If after 10 years it is successful, move on up to the main island, NZ Middle Island, with a more expensive, larger scheme and lessons learnt.

How would such a scheme look like? What sort of reward per rat, possum or rabbit would make it worthwhile? What do farmers currently pay pest controllers per rabbit?

The Islands bird life is prolific at the moment along with rats and pussy cats.
Back five decades ago the bird life was prolific along with rats and pussy cats. Nothing at all has changed over that time except the idiots that are trying to control nature have become out of control.
Nah mate any new idea should start up North where most of these extremists live,,you could start by knocking their numbers down.
Back to the SPCA ??