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Horses killed at Rangipo.
One of the prized polo-cross/rodeo &
pony club horses
recently killed at Rangipo, (along with 20 sheep) by 1080 poison baits
broadcast in an "accidental overfly." The nearby prison water supply
was also poisoned in the same operation, which was carried out by EPRO
LTD, contracted by Environment Waikato (Waikato Regional Council) on
behalf of AHB (Animal Health Board) and sanctioned by the NZ
Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA).
The land treated could easily have been treated
for possum
control by safer alternative methods, ie. trapping and ferratox in bait
stations, as it is NOT REMOTE, NOT INNACCESSIBLE, and NOT RUGGED
TERRAIN.
It is obvious from the position of the animal, the
damage to its leg, the vomited lungs and the distended veins, that this
animal died a horrible and cruel death. Deer have been observed to have
tried to rip open their own bellies in their agony, and have inflicted
similar and worse damage to their bodies while under the effects of
1080. Dogs are driven insane by the excruciating pain inflicted upon
them before succombing to a cruel death. Poisoned possums can travel
several kms and may take up to 18 hours to die.
The assertions to the ERMA review by th
eapplicants,
Department of Conservation and Animal Health Board, supported by
regional councils that 1080 is a relatively humane killer defies logic.
Will the agencies and persons responsible for
the distribution of 1080 be held to FULL ACCOUNT?
Why is 1080 being dropped onto our famland,
into our streams and waterways?
NZ Government Approves Continued Aerial Poisoning.
On Monday
13th August 2007 the New Zealand Environmental Risk Management
Authority (ERMA) approved the continued use of aerial 1080 poison,
ignoring growing public concern regarding the increasing use of 1080
poison & evidence of its harm to both human health & to
the
environment.
It is a known fact that
1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) kills everything that consumes it,
& goes on killing. Many animals, insects and birds die after
every
aerial drop; kea, morepork, even our kiwi are dying through secondary
poisoning.
See what's really happening in NZ's bush & beyond as hundreds
of
thousands of hectares of bush and wilderness areas are bombarded with
this insidious poison.
Take a look at our photo page and make your own decision. Is this the
New Zealand you want to live in or visit?
Link to Predator Defense
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From the US:
Predator Poison - DeFazio plans to ban deadly toxins
It's been called "one of the most dangerous [toxins] known to man," and
it was banned in 1972 after it killed 13 people.
Compound 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) is a colorless, odorless,
tasteless poison that has no antidote and its use was reintroduced in
the U.S. in the early 1980s to kill predators. Since then it has also
killed pet dogs and turned up in former dictator Saddam Hussein's
chemical laboratories in Iraq.
Congressman Peter DeFazio is seeking cosponsors for a bill, the
"Compound 1080 and M-44 Elimination Bill," that would ban its use and
possession as well as the use of highly toxic M-44 sodium cyanide
devices.
The chemical is produced in only one place,
Tull Chemical Co. in
Alabama, and it is used legally by only one group in the U.S.
— the
USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services.
It is used in something called a "livestock protection collar." This
device is placed around the neck of a sheep and has two rubber bladders
filled with 1080; when a predator such as a coyote goes to kill the
animal, it instead ingests the toxin when it bites down, and it later
dies. The bladders can also be burst by barbed wire or other sharp
objects. Each collar contains enough poison to kill five people, says
DeFazio's letter.
"I have nightmares about this stuff," says
Fahy, who says it can
take hours or days for an affected animal to die. Compound 1080 causes
vomiting, convulsions and collapse. Heart failure is usually the cause
of death. It is so potent, according to Fahy, that animals eating
tainted carcasses — even months after that poisoned animal
has died —
can die of secondary poisoning.
After the substance's reintroduction, Predator Defense successfully
campaigned to have Compound 1080's use banned in Oregon in 1998.
However there has been evidence that the substance has been used
illegally to kill federally protected wolves, eagles and other
predators as well as domestic pets across the West, says Fahy.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) lists both sodium
cyanide and
Compound 1080 as chemical agents in its section on chemical
emergencies. Scientists have speculated that Compound 1080, because it
is odorless and tasteless, could be mixed in with water supplies in a
terrorist attack. "It's been called a great tool for assassination,"
says Fahy, because "it's difficult to find in the body."
"This isn't just a wildlife issue," says Fahy, "it's a national
security issue."
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