Time to end the use of 1080 in Australia
Please help stop the unbearable suffering caused by the use of 1080 poison. There are humane options available but the lack of investment and addiction to using it “because we’ve always used it” is no longer acceptable.
Working with Alex Vince, Ban 1080 Poison campaign director, who is a wealth of information and also the driver behind Blue Mountains Council banning its use, has made us aware of just how many companion animals and wildlife are also succumbing to cruel deaths.
What to do if you suspect a pet has ingested 1080 poison.
The letter to council is below and we call on anyone who lives in the Yarra Ranges Shire or Knox Council to add your name to the letter by emailing us at info@fortheloveofwildlife.org.au
If you live elsewhere and wish to contact your council, please feel free to use this letter as a template.
Letter to council (please feel free to use and adapt)
Dear Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors
On behalf of many in the local community, we ask for your urgent attention to this most serious matter.
We are again shocked to see an advertisement (attached for reference) stating that 1080 poison will be used in the Yarra Ranges Shire, predominantly to kill foxes. While introduced species may pose a problem to wildlife, surely it is possible to transition from this horrific poison to protect the native fauna without the fear of the danger it poses to our children, dogs and other non-target species?
We have researched this poison and draw your attention to the following horrendous facts:
- 1080 is a schedule 7 chemical of security concern to Australia
- It is banned in every country except 6, which includes Australia and New Zealand
- It is indiscriminate and non-selective
- It is banned in the US due to the “extreme hazard to human health and to the environment”
- the World Health Organisation defines it as a Class 1A pesticide ie: extremely hazardous
- 1080 kills inhumanely: the suffering lasts between 8–24 hours for birds and 2–4 days for large mammals
- It routinely kills non-target and threatened native species
- There is no antidote
Symptoms of 1080 poisoning include “vomiting, anxiety, disorientation and shaking”. These quickly develop into frenzied behaviour with running and screaming fits, drooling at the mouth, uncontrolled paddling and seizures, followed by total collapse and death.”[1]
The possibility of poisoning native non-target species like the endangered Tiger or Eastern Quoll or ground-digging marsupials like Potoroos, or omnivorous birds is strenuously denied by government authorities. However, localised extinctions of Tiger Quolls were linked to 1080 baiting 20 years ago when politicians were informed by a government Threatened Species Scientific Committee.[2]
1080 poison spreads through the ecosystem destroying soil microbes and insects. It permeates waterways affecting crustaceans and water life including platypus. There are no life forms it will not kill and not one area in the ecosystem it cannot be limited to as it radiates out with devastating consequences
Viable alternatives include immunocontraception and the introduction of indigenous predators such as Dingoes. We also wish to bring to your attention the recent ban by the Blue Mountains City Council.
https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/7173118/ban-on-1080-applauded/
In 2008 the Federal Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts stated: “Since foxes only breed once a year over a short period in early winter, fertility control could be applied over a short period of time each year. Targeting fertility may yield an effective long-term approach to reducing fox numbers.” [3]
We the undersigned, ask council to stop using 1080 poison in the Yarra Ranges Shire and to work with the CSIRO, State Government and environmental scientists on a humane solution to this man-made problem.
Thank you for considering our appeal. We look forward to hearing from you soon with your response.
Yours sincerely
References:
H Hahner, 1080, the nasty poison. The District Bulletin, Nov 2012, p18.
C A Belcher, Demographics of tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus maculatus) populations in south-eastern Australia, Australian Journal of Zoology, 2003.
Michael T Lohr and Robert A Davis, Anticoagulant rodenticide use, non-target impacts and regulation: A case study from Australia. Science of the Total Environment, Feb 2018.
[1] H Hahner, 1080, the nasty poison. The District Bulletin, Nov 2012, p18
[2] http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/significant-impact-guidelines-endangered-spot-tailed-quoll-dasyurus-maculatus-maculatus
[3] http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/1846b741-4f68-4bda-a663-94418438d4e6/files/tap-fox-background.pdf