Forest and Bird says that the decision by the Animal Health Board to proceed with a 1080 possum control drop in the Blue Mountains (Southland) is the right one.

“Ground control for possums only works in certain areas,” says Eric Pyle, Forest and Bird’s Conservation Manager. “Aerial 1080 is the only effective possum control tool in rugged areas of New Zealand.”

To reduce possum numbers to the low levels needed to protect our forests, wildlife and control Tb aerial 1080 is needed. “The fact that no contractors could be found to do ground control work in the Blue Mountains highlights the limits of ground-based control,” said Mr Pyle.

“1080 is a key pest control tool. Its benefits to conservation are substantial, its risks are very small,” said Mr Pyle.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>