Is DoC Responsible for Causing Rat Plagues?

Is DoC Responsible for Causing Rat Plagues?

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The Department of Conservation claims it needs to aerially spread New Zealand forests with the deadly pesticide 1080, to kill plagues of rats. However, their own research contradicts their claim. In this short video clip http://youtu.be/ZMvdXlFSbRY a DoC trapper, every three weeks, checks 80 traps set through an aerial drop zone in the Pureora Forest Park, Central North Island. The 1080 kills the rats, "yeah, but you'd need to do it every two months" says Steve Oates while clearing the traps of rapidly increasing numbers of rats. "It would be cheaper to put in more traps than to aerially poison every two months."

In research undertaken by scientists Pat and Quinn Whiting Okeefe, presented in the documentary Poisoning Paradise, they found that when populations of rats are killed in 1080 poison drops stoats are likely to switch prey from rats to birds (rats are the main prey of stoats). And when the rat populations rapidly recover, the stoat populations follow, which in turn can cause a double hit on native birds.

To view the rat plague video click on this link http://youtu.be/ZMvdXlFSbRY to view the 4 x international award winning documentary Poisoning Paradise, click on this linkhttp://youtu.be/yQRuOj96CRs or copy and paste it to your browser.

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