Brodifacoum

This page is the 'emotive' aspects of Brodifacoum. It contains personal/public opinion and newspaper links.  The links to Hawaii are very interesting, especially when compared to what has occurred in the Hauraki Gulf.
Scientific analysis and discussion will be included in the 'Chemical Toxicity' page.

Now Lord Howe Island is in for a brodifacoum drop.  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10607130
http://www.lordhoweisland.info/conservation.htm

Concerned Lord Howe Island residents have contacted Ocean Aware and information has been sent to assist them in their battle to stop this potentially devastating practice. Unfortunately the authorities there are in denial as to the real effects of this highly toxic and persistent poison.  If this goes ahead, it will be interesting to see how long it will take for the hundreds of fish/sea turtles that are washed up to be labeled "a shock and a coincidence". 

Hundreds, if not thousands of fish and marine mammals/birds washing up dead after brodifacoum drops is far from new.  Previously brodifacoum was only used on isolated offshore islands, and therefore the casualties went unnoticed except by conservation workers.  As the practice of aerial drops creeps closer and closer to mainland habitation however, the true effects become blatantly apparent. 

In New Zealand many members of the public instinctively felt that the drops and the marine deaths were linked. They voiced their concerns, however the Department of Conservation are expert PR manipulators.  Sadly no scientific evidence was able to be obtained by Ocean Aware to prove brodifacoum residues (another factor that has marred attempts to prove a link elsewhere in the world) in samples retrieved from Waiheke, Eastern Beach and Rangitoto.
Some comments following the Campbell Live show:
Brendan
01 Sep 2009 12:03p.m.
I spent a couple of days at Rangitoto early August ....I'm a marine-research technician.....I was absolutely astounded at the amount of Brodifacoum baits present in the intertidal zone....it was very clear the baits had been in and out with the tide several times....the debate re the toxicity of this product is mute....it's very nasty stuff!!,pure and simple.... and shouldn't be anywhere near the water or positioned in a state where it can leach into runoff water.....a truly insidious debacle which unfortunately is going on in various ways all around us....DOC are THE experts at avoiding liability re the use of toxins in the environment....I encourage all Kiwi's -- trust your instincts , keep your eyes and ears wide open , take photo's ,take time to comment , help stop the use of toxin's as a management tool....Paradise IS being poisoned , Human health IS being affected.......Please TV3 , play the relevant documentary

Helen
02 Sep 2009 10:37p.m.
Good on you TV3 for starting to get little bits of this news out there. One thing that needs to be covered is that not only DOC and other agencies are poisoning our environment with large scale dropping of such toxins but also they are doing much smaller, more quieter "campaigns" all over our "100% pure" country. I live in a small rural valley in Upper Hutt which has recently had Brodificaum used here, and every day I am finding dead birds on my property. I have lived here 12 years and never seen so many dead birds. Other neighbours have also commented on the loss of fish life in our streams. Maybe not a big thing for just one little insignificant valley but how many of these valleys make up our 100% pure image right across our country?
If people do not want to get passionate about the wild, domestic and farmed animals being killed, or the threat to humans then consider what our international tourism, meat, diary, wild game markets would think of this. The economic impact could be dire. It makes "100% pure" a sick joke! Please TV3 keep covering what is going on here and please can we see some more in depth investigation.

Piwakawaka
02 Sep 2009 9:35p.m.
FACT: DOC dropped hundreds of kilos of poison pellets in to the sea around both islands' shorelines out to 40m from shore on all three stages of the operation; in light of the sophisticated technology used to under take the drops this is nothing but negligent.

FACT: To-date NO testing has been carried out specifically for brodifacoum. MAF offered to do this after the first deaths weeks ago, and prior to the third poison drop, but DOC declined.

paul haines
02 Sep 2009 8:23p.m.
If DOC wants the public to support it's use of Brodifacoum(and other poisons)it needs the public to trust them to be honest and realistic about the pros and cons of their use.If they can't get the public behind them without being disingenuous,even dishonest,then they should take a long hard look at their strategies-is what they've been doing really the best option? I'm worried about our Hauraki Gulf-pollution,poisons,dairy runoff'and god knows what else."nz 100% pure"- bullshit! If we wanna create wealth and live in a nice,healthy place,then we need to make some changes.If we trash everything through ignorance and a desire for short term (and often illusory)gain, well then sooner or later we're gonna be 'well and truely...' DOC please make sure you really are one of the good guys;don't just presume you are.

Carol Reeves
02 Sep 2009 5:11p.m.
Notice how this guy from DOC said "He'd eat fish from the water immediately after this drop" but he didn't say he'd eat the fish in a couple of weeks or so when the brodifacoum had started breaking down or when fish started dying.
DOC,Regional Councils and the contractors who drop these poisons must all be trained to say the same thing.
The contractor who told me he was aerial dropping 1080 50m from my house,told me that he would have no hesitation in drinking water from my bore immediately after this drop.He didn't add "in the next few weeks" either.
He now claims that he was just doing as he was told and that he doesn't believe that 1080 should be aerial dropped but that it should only be used in bait stations.
That really makes me feel good after he has aerial dropped it close to my backyard.

Chaz
02 Sep 2009 2:33p.m.
...'suggestion that DoC is lying to the public is irresponsible'...and dumping environmentally toxic poisons into our waters isn't?!! I live close to North Shore beaches and am in no doubt of the link between the helicopter 'visits' and the subsequent deaths of marine life. DoC you should be ashamed. Your reputation is as tarnished as our 'Clean, Green' image will be overseas!

Craig
02 Sep 2009 10:12a.m.
coincidence i think !!!! not maybe DOC staff could take a nzqa course in commonsense. what happens when the microorganisms in the water take it in and then eaten by larger aquatic life? surely some sort of residue is passed on through the cycle.

Paul (from www.enufisenuf.co.nz)
01 Sep 2009 7:03p.m.
Brodifacoum is 4 time worse than 1080. It has a half life of 157, this means it can last 314 days. It's not water soluble, which means that it will not get diluted by water sea or rain. It's unknown what the poison does in water and around our coastlines. It is known that the compound is retained in organs of animals for long periods of time. Test show that doses can be present in rats for 104 weeks. There’s no reference that advocates arial drops of Brodifacoum. In fact this way breaks all guidelines. There appears to be many long term risks that can be passed down through the food chain. Not just the fact that these toxins are killing animals, a far more serious danger is the immediate affect that it may present to our health. Not to mention the long term slow insidious affect minute particles of these poisons may have on our health and all other land and marine life. The WHO say's that Brodifacoum should only be used in bait stations, places under covers to protect them from the weather, children and non target animals. The bait needs to be easily removed and safely disposed of at the end of the treatment. Dead rodents should be recovered and promptly disposed of appropriately. Brodifacoum is highly toxic and represent a considerable danger to humans (especially children) and non-target animals, including pets, livestock, and wildlife. These strict guidelines imposed are there for a reason. These were not adhered to. We’re only now allowed on our beaches on Waiheke, but with caution. No one knows for sure if they are safe, time will tell. We’re concerned that our coast lines have been poisoned. Doc, own up, you've really stuffed up big time on so many levels. Come clean, we deserve to know the truth. It should be our basic human right. Enough is a enough. Stop this appalling indiscriminate poisoning. There are sheep grazing on Motutapu, only weeks after after the drop. Who's going to be eating this lamb supper? What true madness.

Kathy White
01 Sep 2009 5:25p.m.
So what are the facts about the 1080 and brodifacoum that are used so widely in pest control operations in NZ? I don't know a lot but I do know that both poisons have the potential to kill everything that eats it directly or through secondary poisoning. We aerially drop it which means that it kills species which are not targeted, like insects, birds, deer and fish. I have serious concerns about the ethics of killing a lot of other creatures in our attempts to kill maybe two species, especially when there are other alternatives like targeted ground control. My other concern is that we may know a bit about the effects of a lethal dose on animals, but we seem to know very little about how a sub-lethal dose affects animals. Does it make them more susceptible to viruses for instance - the same sort of virus mentioned by DoC on Campbell Live? Personally, I'd like the freedom to make up my own mind about this stuff. Please screen the documentary.

Ian Murphy
01 Sep 2009 4:48p.m.
Coincidence...Yeah Right. Brodifacoum is very highly toxic to aquatic life. Only a very tiny amount is needed to kill fish and there are 140 tonnes of the stuff dumped around the islands. Tiny amounts can kill with only minimal bleeding and killing by toxic shock. The liver needs to be tested as that is where the poison concentrates and so far this hasn't been done. I wonder why!

Graeme Martin
31 Aug 2009 10:13p.m.
I am a Pet Food Processor and we are not allowed to harvest Rabbits from farms that have Brodifacoum spread for Possum control for three years yet Beef, Lamb , Venison and milk can be harvested next day for Human consumption, its time New Zealanders opened their eyes. Support to all the above.

Hiya,

I have just read your article on the Hauraki Gulf issue...I live on the Thames Coast, and have been taking photos of the dead bird life for TV3 news.  We have dead Geese, shags, seagulls, magpies and penguins all over our beaches. Two dogs here died last weekend from 'chewing on dead shags'..this is obviously secondary poisoning.  I agree 100% that it is a man made disaster, DOC and their poison dumps...this waterway has suffered hundreds of tonnes of poison for years now, and I think it has basically  had enough.  DoC and ERMA are currently arguing with each other on who's fault it is...so they know perfectly well they have stuffed it up.  This has to be proven once and for all, and DOC has to stop!  In the last 4 years, they have dumped 1080 into our water supply twice, both times I have had to watch my two small children suffering from central nervous system disorders.  They lose coordination, their blood pressure drops, and they cannot see.  I have contacted Dell Hood from the Waikato DHB...she couldn't care less, says it has nothing to do with the 1080.  Although it happens within a week of the drop, and lasts another two weeks.  The same that happened to the citizens of Wellington, where their water supply was contaminated with 1080.

WE HAVE TO STOP THEM!!!!

Thank you, I think your website is fantastic!
Maria

The Waiheke Gulf News published this article on the 20th August: 
"Penguin deaths prompt call for independent testing"
http://www.waihekegulfnews.co.nz/news/penguin-deaths-prompt-call-for-independent-testing.htm
After this article, DoC began to censor letters to the editor of Gulf News that spoke out about their methods and the perceived effects. 
Angela Marsden wrote this letter late August:  (deleted parts in red)

Dear Editor,

                   Where are all the voices against the poisoning of our beloved Harbour and Gulf?I find it almost impossible to believe this is the same Island that can so effectively protest against rubbish taken off Island,Ferry fares etc is not shrieking in protest against what has happened to the sea that surrounds us.This is far more important to me and all those I have spoken to.I am 65 and have never in all my years heard of anything of this magnitude and I have spoken to many in their 8th-9th decade who can't recall an occurrence such as this.We know about blooms and we have even heard of Puffer-fish being seen here.However,the sheer coincidence of the Department of Conservation doing not just one,but several poison bait drops on Rangitoto and Motutapu is very suspicious to me.I have never heard of poison drops being carried out in the Inner Harbour before either.Rangitoto is a pourous scoria Island as well with a natural aquifer and currents that swirl past all the shores where death occurred.I am no scientist,however, I know Rat poison (Boadificm) poisoning when I see it having had 2 cats and a dog die in a similar manner as the dogs on the beaches.I also have experience of Poison drops in forests against possums carried out by this Department,resulting in the death of native birds snails,in fact all warm-blooded creatures,as well as the target pest.Does the Department think we are going to just roll over and meekly accept everything they say?Apart from summer being just around the corner and our own enjoyment of our best resource,the sea, and kaimoana,I have already heard some mutterings from the business community saying that our best source of income,tourism, is already tailing off as a result of the bans on beaches and the gathering of shellfish.Yes I am angry.at this outrage, and disappointed that a Community with such a great reputation for effective protest is so quiet.I want answers,not fob-offs.I have sailed all over the Gulf and Harbour and it fills the view from my house and I adore every bit of it and I just can't believe there is no connection between the Poison drops and the death of canine and marine warm-bloods.

                                                     Come on Department of Conservation,convince me.

                                                                                Yours faithfully,

                                                                                    Angela Marsden.

This is just a tiny proportion of the comments and opinions of the people of Auckland and Waiheke. 

Sadly on each occasion, the mass deaths are treated and dismissed as 'coincidence'.
A coincidence that occurs EVERY SINGLE TIME brodifacoum is used in aerial drops???   That seems highly fishy to me if you'll pardon the pun!

Evidence of similar occurrences in Hawaii:
 
http://northshorekauai.com/2009/03/16/catastrophic-fish-kill-still-scars-niihau-diet/

The dead fish appeared in mid-January shortly after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dumped rat poison on nearby Lehua island on behalf of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Lehua is less than a mile north of Niihau, a privately owned island with a population of about 100. Niihau residents say they still have not been told whether the rat poison and dead fish are related. In the interim, they have avoided consuming fish, a diet staple.
The state Department of Health issued an advisory in February urging residents on the private island not to eat fish from nearby waters.

"We still don't know what's happening," said Keith Robinson, a member of the family that owns Niihau. "We still don't know whether it is safe to eat fish, and we are still looking for an official statement."
Robinson added that there are reportedly about a dozen monk seals who used to regularly visit the island and have recently "gone missing," while others appear "extremely sick."
He said, however, that residents have not had a food shortage and have not been in serious need of food and supplies. A report posted on the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs Web site erroneously reported the island needed food, he said.

Robinson said the island's supply barge arrived last weekend, and there was no such shortage of food or supplies.
"The supply line of food to Niihau is open, but the bottom line is the people have not been able to go back to eating fish. The Department of Health has not given us clearance," he added.
Janice Okubo, Department of Health spokeswoman, said the department never actually issued a direct ban for eating fish on Niihau.

"It was an advisory; people need to use their own common sense and judgment," she said, when asked whether Niihau fishing could resume. "For us to do a ban and to enforce it, we would have to have really strong evidence."
Ilei Beniamina, a part-time Niihau resident who is an assistant professor in counseling at Kauai Community College, believes residents are not getting enough vital nutrients that the fish once provided, such as protein and calcium.

"Our people depend on the ocean. The ocean is their Costco," said Beniamina.

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20090206_Huge_fish_kill_off_Niihau_triggers_consumer_alert.html

http://sdces.sdstate.edu/ces_website/conferences/2009wrpm/Western_States_Meeting_2009.pdf
This site contains photos of fish and whales, and a review by Robert Boesch, Pesticides Programme Manager, Dept of Agriculture,
Hawaii.

Please view the Photo Album to view photos of native bird deaths on Rangitoto, Hauraki Gulf, NZ. These images were taken 1 month after the last drop of Brodifacoum (7 Sept 09), and pellets were still visible on the ground and on holiday home roofs and gutters - this will affect the tank drinking water.