While consumers fret about where the next batch of poisoned foodstuffs will be found on supermarket shelves, conservationists are debating the introduction of a lethal poison to counter ”problem” wildlife.
A Northern Cape conservation official says the poison, called 1080, is ”the perfect poison to get rid of your worst enemy — it has no smell, no taste and no residues”. Predators like jackals and caracals that prey on domestic livestock are the main targets of the poison.
In the United States 1080 was banned in 1972 and now it can only be used in specially designed collars placed on sheep. In the US, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, the poison can only be applied by government agents.
Opponents say 1080 causes a lingering, agonising death in animals. Dogs that have eaten it scream, tremble, vomit, convulse violently and may swallow their own tongues. It can take them up to 36 hours to die.
Cruelty to animals is not the only worry expressed by critics. They say if the poison is used in baits to lure problem predators, there is a high risk of it leaching into the environment and even entering the human food chain.
”What is worrying is the long lifetime of the poison that remains in nature. If the bait dries out, it will remain poisonous indefinitely,” says Thys de Wet, an expert in problem animal work at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Foundation.
”Another big drawback is the fact that there is no dependable antidote. This may have serious consequences for humans and non-target animals.”
Unlike cyanide, the chemical poison preferred by the Pick ’n Pay extortionist, 1080 is a natural compound derived from the gifblaar (poison leaf) plant. It is licensed for use in sheep collars in South Africa and tests are being carried out on using it in baits.
The Poison Working Group, part of the Johannesburg-based Endangered Wildlife Trust, is involved in the tests on baits. Its stance is that, given the growing abuse of agricultural pesticides and other chemicals, 1080 is the lesser evil.
”Other poisons out there are being widely abused and there has been a recent upsurge in poisoning events across the country. You can just walk into a farmers’ cooperative and buy most of these chemicals across the counter,” says Tim Snow, field operations manager of the Poison Working Group.
Abuse of agricultural chemicals is punishable with imprisonment of up to six years or fines of up to R 40 000, but this does not seem to deter the perpetrators. In late May police recovered a 13-ton stolen consignment of aldicarb, a pesticide widely used by housebreakers to poison dogs.
”Aldicarb is out of control in Southern Africa. It is freely available at taxi ranks and in muti shops,” says Snow. Using 1080 in a strictly controlled fashion may force the government to review the registration of aldicarb, he adds.
Many farmers who want to target predators use strychnine, another toxic plant-based compound that can cause violent convulsions. Animals that eat this have been known to break their own spines while writhing in agony.
The 1080 baits that are envisaged for use here comprise a tablet placed inside a meat paste that is irradiated and vacuum-packed. ”You would have to go to a lot of effort to get the tablet out and put it into someone’s drink,” says Snow.
De Wet counters that the introduction of 1080 is merely adding fuel to the poison powder keg in South Africa. He says 1080 will be effective only if used in sheep collars targeted at individual animals known to be preying on stock, and preferably in combination with a variety of other proven problem animal control methods.
”More should be done on human dimensions in wildlife, especially problem animal control. Then less poison of any kind would have to be used,” he adds.