Frustrated anti-1080 protesters in Takaka lobby against poison drop in Kahurangi National Park

Thursday, 17 November 2016

Around 60 Anti-1080 protesters marched down Commercial Street on Saturday.

An anti-1080 protest in Takaka was held over the weekend out of 'sheer frustration' of the current aerial 1080 poison drop in the Kahurangi National Park.

Organiser of Kahurangi 1080 Action Group, Trevor Koberstein said about 60 people gathered for the Stop the Drop protest outside the Department of Conservation office in Takaka on Saturday.

'It began out of sheer frustration from not being heard.'

He said the groups aim was to peacefully disrupt the poison drop and respond to the fragile situation of the kea.

'We are consulting with lawyers to take direct legal action to prosecute DOC for killing kea,' he said.

DOC begun the aerial 1080 drops in the Kahurangi National Park in September as part of its Battle for our Birds predator control programme.

The predator control is aimed at protecting populations of whio/blue duck, great spotted kiwi, kea, kaka, rock wren/tuke, Powelliphanta snails and long-tailed bats/pekapeka.

The Kahurangi predator control is the largest operation in DOC's 2016 national Battle for our Birds programme and is planned to cover approximately 295,000 hectares of the park and other conservation land.

'There's conflicting science from both groups but the fact is there's no long term independent peer review study of how 1080 affects mammals in New Zealand including humans,' Koberstein said.

DOC's view that it was acceptable to kill native birds in order to wipe out predators was 'utterly atrocious.'

'There is no accountability and no long-term studies taken for health or the killing of birds.'

DOC spokesperson Trish Grant said people have a right to express their views and lawfully protest, however it would not stop DOC from continuing the drop.

She said numerous studies have been published on 1080 impacts on the environment.

'We have measures in place with aerial 1080 operations to minimise the risk of kea deaths. Though some kea deaths may occur, research is showing losses are more than offset by big gains from pest control.'

Grant said when there was a stoat plague after forest seeding, fewer than 10% of kea nests produce a single chick.

'But this increases to more than 70 per cent of nests producing chicks if stoats and possums are controlled with aerial 1080 in the mountainous areas where kea live.'