Thread: TB control in Molesworth

So many deer around now I'm all for a few getting knocked back, it's barely hunting in a lot of spots now, sure makes it hard to find anything decent.

NZDA e-mail received this arvo:
Vector Free Marlborough Limited wishes to advise that aerial application of toxin 1080 to Molesworth A ( Bush Gulley-Tarndale ) control area will begin from dawn on 10/06/2021. Application expected to take two days to complete, weather dependant.

Well weather is looking great so I'm guessing it will be all go.

60% or more of the deer dead by Friday evening, hopefully I'm wrong. Probably see the white bellies from the road in places.

Is OSPRI proposing to conduct a deer mortality survey, with or without input from NZDA/hunters?

Yes

Originally Posted by kiwigreen

So many deer around now I'm all for a few getting knocked back, it's barely hunting in a lot of spots now, sure makes it hard to find anything decent.

While I am all for numbers being kept in check I find it hard to follow your logic re "finding something decent"
You actually need decent numbers to get decent animals....so some reach maturity and some of those have decent genetics etc.

Originally Posted by kiwigreen

it's barely hunting in a lot of spots now.

Please share I'd be happy to help lower the numbers and make it more like hunting for you


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Hi, might be a silly question - BUT
How much 1080 poison does an animal need to ingest before it takes affect?
Is it a different amount per animal size say opossum vs pig vs deer?
Is it quick or slow for the animal?
The stuff must stay in the system for awhile with no 'meat taken notice 4-6ths after drop'.

Thanks in advance

Originally Posted by Tahr

Its easy to be negative about this but there is a positive and that is that they are using repellent. Kudos to the local NZDA for their survey and lobbying - I hope everyone supported it (Give a Little page at the time).

TB is a trade issue and its hard to argue against.

I hunt the Haurangis and they are knee deep in 1080 at times but for the last few times with repellent. There are plenty of deer still - probably too many. Like Molesworth, there is plenty of country for the deer to re-seed the poisoned areas from.

On Molesworth even the worst predictions of the drop without repellent have not come to past - the poisoned areas seem to be re-populating? Still a damn shame though that some wonderful trophys ended up dead and rotting.

All is not lost. Onwards and upwards.

You are right Tahr that there are plenty deer in the Aorangis. Too many. I am seeing the impacts now. It is an issue and an increasing one. This is not limited to this area though. The problem is that not enough people are successfully hunting the bush anymore and the pressure in there is insufficient. The hunters are all carrying big rifles, big day packs and wearing bino bivvies . They cant get through the bush easily where the deer are and the open country, what little there is comparatively, is getting the majority of the hunting effort. Access in some places is also an issue. Most farmers are good with access there, but it still concentrates everyone else in certain places. Ah the joys.

You are right about the gear Hiawatha,its like watching a green spacesuit coming towards you with all that bling on.

Any word on when or if the NZDA are conducting the survey after the Ospri operation?

Originally Posted by MAC

Hi, might be a silly question - BUT
How much 1080 poison does an animal need to ingest before it takes affect?
Is it a different amount per animal size say opossum vs pig vs deer?
Is it quick or slow for the animal?
The stuff must stay in the system for awhile with no 'meat taken notice 4-6ths after drop'.

Thanks in advance

very much a varied thing..and dogs are one of the MOST sensitive to it....
slow and painful......
definately body size dependant....but if pellets are intended to kill big animals they sure as shooting will kill small ones...
4-6 mths is interesting one...havent heard that before its NORMALLY after X amount of rainfall...X being amount decided will wash any baits on ground enough to be non toxic anymore that MAY BE for commercial recovery....
as to how much???? thats a piece of string question..... how many whiskeys can you drink before it takes effect??? you will say X Mrs will say Y coppers will say Z and your buddies will say W
if animal is still walking around acting normally a couple of months after drop or 4" of rain later...its PROBABLY fairly safe to eat....always a dodgy time hunting after a drop.

Have there been any reports of the deer “by kill” since the 1080 drop ( official or unofficial)? Interested to know what impact there has been this time around…

So what's the go then? I booked a block (outside the 1080 area) for last week of November, then the email comes through telling me no meat to be taken for 4-9 months after the drop. Waiting to hear if it's the whole of Molesworth.

If it is, because poisoned animals could roam into other blocks on the station, then my question is what about the adjacent PCL? Couldn't they just as easily roam in there?

My question here is this (and yes, I'm new to hunting): What's the risk to us if we take meat from a non-1080 block, 4 months after a drop?