1080

Rats and possums are both omnivores, they eat both meat and plants. 1080 kills most of the stoats via secondary poisoning. The rats eat the 1080, wander around dieing and stoats grab a easy meal. They stoat also dies. If a deer recently ate a large amount of 1080, then there is a chance a hunter would be poisoned by eating its flesh. But 1080 metabolises quickly and after a few weeks there would be no risk of poisoning. I think in Thailand, farmers use/used 1080 to control rodents, they then ate the dead rodents... and cases of 1080 poisoning in humans occurred over there.

Stouts can be effectively controlled by trapping although that is in limited areas. The reality is that no current method has the ability to wipe out any pest species so control will go on and numbers will be controlled but never eliminated. The likes of 1080 has been used to wipe out pests in limited areas like islands but it is intensive use and really not suited to the entire country

The only way to control pest species on the mainland is to effectively break it up into smaller chunks; create a series of 'islands' with a mix of control measures including fences and intensive baiting at strategic points. The idea is to funnel the pests into concentrated areas so they can be more effectively trapped or poisoned. Then protect the newly cleaned areas with fencing and bait lines. The idea of a "Pest Free NZ" is ambitious but with what we have learned over the past few decades we do have a much better idea of how to go about it. I think it is very doable.

The fact that there are no possoms on Mirimar peninsular is proof it can work with people around.

i'd read that was what was being touted for Stewart islands, to make it pest free segment by segment by using geographical areas where they had a short line on the inland side to make it easier to stop predators getting into an area being eradicated for pests. I have no idea how practical that would be or how much money it would cost to achieve, I'd imagine it would be doable for the right price, but then its about whether the budget can get approved to do it. in the end ideally you'd want to make the whole island pest tree to stop predators from swimming from one part of the island to another.... be great to make it a goal to make stewart island pest free and set the wheels in motion and hopefully the inertia is kept up until it is pest free.. a study was done of the domestic cats on the island and they werent travelling that far on the island. so they would only be a limited problem...

Check out PAPP. VERY excited to see this getting used in NZ; targeting stoats! AND there's an antidote! :)