Monday, 12 September 2011

The death of seven kea near Okarito is an unacceptable example of the collateral damage caused by the aerial application of 1080 poison says UnitedFuture Leader Peter Dunne.

“This is a terrible result and should really be the death knell for aerial 1080,” said Mr Dunne.

“Just a few months ago we had the appalling news that five kea were deliberately shot near Arthur’s Pass, in my view the Okarito deaths are an equally unforgivable act.”

“We have known for a long time that aerial 1080 is indiscriminate, dangerous and it kills native birds.”

“DoC have no excuses anymore.”

“For a long time provincial communities have had to put up with the aerial dumping of this stuff in order to satisfy DoC’s argument of the greater good, for many people that argument is wearing thin.”

“How long are New Zealanders going to put up with this?”

“DoC currently spends less than $2 million a year on researching and developing alternatives. With that level of investment taxpayers dollars will still be killing kea for many years to come.”

“If we are to save our native bird populations we need to substantially increase the amount of funding available to develop anti-1080 alternatives. DoC and other agencies responsible for pest control need to significantly contribute to this out of their existing budgets,” said Mr Dunne.

ENDS

© Scoop Media