Thread: Decades of 1080….before and after

I spent 20 odd years mixing and handling 1080 on a weekly, if not daily basis. In the early days, it was an effective tool in reducing rabbit and possum populations significantly. Back then we were that busy working hard towards the desired outcome, that no-one actually looked at the bigger picture.
Animal control with any poison is only ever short term. With rabbits, once the environment changed and land-use was altered, ( Dairying in the McKenzie basin, irrigation and subdivision in Central Otago) the need for most large scale 1080 poison operations largely disappeared. Coupled with the calici virus, landowners got some breathing space. Its obvious today that some capitalised on this, while others did not, and thats one of the reasons why there are still high rabbit numbers in some areas.
Possums are a bit different - still the population knock back, but you cant easily change the environment they live in. So on one hand you've got 1080 control due to high numbers (DOC), and also 1080 operations to eliminate Bovine TB from possums and ferrets as vectors (OSPRI, once Animal Health Board)
On top of all this, nowadays you've got lies, deceit, cover-ups and politics playing a part. I don't know of any simple answer, although maintaining the buffer zones seems to be a big step in the right direction. I don't like that 1080 has become the immediate go-to solution, but maybe it was and still is a necessary evil, time will tell.