Replacement for 1080 not too far off

New pest poisons could replace 1080 in New Zealand within six years, scientists say.

The research director for pest-control company Connovation, Charles Eason, said new pest-control product registrations in the past year had set a record.

Research into other poisons followed a call by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) in 2007 for substitutes for 1080.

Dr Eason said many people wanted other poisons that were more humane and did not involve "non-target deaths".

"There is no magic-bullet replacement for 1080, but we do have new toxins coming through," he said.

New toxins being tested included zinc phosphide in a paste form, which could be six years away, and sodium nitrate, which was now used for curing meats.

Cyanide pellets were being considered, along with new "designer toxins".

Introducing the toxins would require focused research over the next three to six years, he said.

Landcare Research's programme leader for possum biocontrol development, Janine Duckworth, said researchers were "under pressure to reduce toxins like 1080".

Fertility blocking was a "humane option" that the public was comfortable with, although it would need to be part of an integrated pest-control plan.

Researchers were testing a vaccine that blocked fertility and could be delivered by baits, she said.

Work had also been done on a stomach parasite, but funding was limited and the project was on hold.

Lincoln University senior lecturer Shaun Ogilvie said research into the use of plants to be used as natural pest control was being developed.

This included plants that could block fertility in pests, he said.

Fairfax

- The Marlborough Express

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