1080 Part 3 - The Opposition

The creative logo for the Facebook group.
Notice the skull & crossbones in lieu of the other '0'?

In the last two posts, I threw some stuff together about 1080, one a general overview and the other a slightly more in-depth look at 1080 the poison, how it works and the risks that come with it. This time, I want to look at the anti1080 people. They are the reason I've written these three posts. So what are their arguments? Why do they do this? 

Who are they and what do they want?

It seems to me that with every success in science, there is an opposition to it. Vaccines, medicine in general, glyphosate, artificial sweeteners, water-fluoridation, GMOs, the moon landing, and 1080 is no exception. There is a growing amount of people who seem to be against it. They've threatened to shoot down helicopters and poison swimming pools, they've threatened to poison baby formula and even sent in a sample of poisoned baby formula to show they weren't messing around. They've vandalised road signs in numerous places, they've placed dead birds on parliament steps during protests to symbolise birds being by 1080. But there is little to no proof to show that the birds were killed by 1080, more than likely road kill or other means. In 1995, a hunter hijacked a helicopter and held the pilots hostage at gunpoint. Not only abuse, insults and threats, but even a tumour has been thrown at DOC staff. A wee bit of history on the opposition can be found here.

Let's not beat around the native bush. This is an emotional issue. We're dropping poison onto our land with the intent to kill animals. 1080, after all, is poison. Noone is denying that. It's no wonder some people are emotional. The side that's all for 1080 is emotional as well, we want to save our native species from extinction. It's the emotion that drives us to do something. But the crucial difference between the sides? We have evidence. Lots of it. Gerry McSweeney, an ambassador for Forest & Bird, once put it as

"Frankly, the science is now so overwhelmingly supportive of the 1080 programme that the opponents see it as desperate times requiring desperate measures".

I think he's right. Anyone who has witnessed the desperation and sheer illogical nature of the recent rise in opposition will attest to this. Sue Grey, a lawyer who's helping to fight 1080 use, suggested the opposition needs to get more mainstream coverage. "Don't wait for a story about 1080". So that's what they've been doing. Every live video, news article, or public post on social media in the last few months has been plastered in "Ban 1080". When you question them on it, there is generally no answer. 

In fact, that is where the anti1080 crowd differ from the antivaccine crowd. Antivaxers, as most of us know, are quick to post their copypasta and nonsensical garbage in support of their view, even if it does sometimes contradict what they're saying. They can't wait to spout bullshit, venturing out of their echo-chambers to tell you how evil the doctors are... The anti1080 people, on the other hand, seem quite unsure about themselves. Perhaps because of a lack of messiah figures? They have the Graf boys I suppose. 

What's their evidence?

Most of the anti1080-ers (let's call them propesters) I've encountered don't know. The others like to post the website 1080science.co.nz. It has science in the URL, it has to be legit, right? Well, this website is a cherry-picker's dream. It's run by Dr Jo Pollard (PhD). Read more on Pollard here. The articles in question are at the top of that link, which is full of embarrassing pseudoscience. She is staunchly anti1080, so there maaay be some bias coming through in the collection of research here on the website.

The website also contains documentaries made by propesters the Graf Boys, two brothers who are videographers in New Zealand. Hardly seems unbiased, but ok. Their concerns seem to be mainly centred around the fear that it kills everything, poisons the water and the land. As discussed in the earlier post, however, this is not the case. 1080 is quickly diluted in water and breaks down very quickly. It doesn't bioaccumulate and we have become very good at targeting the right species with it. Using cinnamon, to attract possums and repel birds. GPS tracking allows for very accurate drops of baits. Oh, and remember 

no 1080 has ever been detected in drinking water catchments.

There is very little here on the 1080 "science" website. Old studies, that are no longer relevant with today's baiting methods, cherrypicked data that make their points look proven but not if you look any further. In fact, this is all very similar to the antivaccine "science". None of the studies really back up a ban. The reviews and evidence we do have actually support its continued use. Because it's working. 

A lot of the evidence they claim supports them is also completely false. The famous image of dead kiwi with the caption "1080 killed these kiwi"? The kiwi were collected by DOC and kept frozen. They had been killed by dogs and cars. One thing the anti1080 show though, is to not let facts get in the way of a good story. A small collection of false news can be found here.

What are their concerns? Agenda 21, 30 etc?

Someone asked a question on the Operation Ban 1080 Facebook page (see upper left corner). Tina Ngata compiled hypotheses put forward by the Ban 1080 page on Facebook. The pie chart you see here is that compilation. Thank you, Tina!!!

A handy pie chart to show the propesters' concerns.

Here, we can see that the main concern of these people is that human extermination/population control is the ultimate goal. (Sounds similar to the antivaccine argument, but ok). I think it's safe to assume some of these may be Poe posts or just jokes (inner earthers?!), but the overwhelming majority think the government wants to exterminate humans. It doesn't seem to be doing very well, to anyone paying attention, the world's population is going up. Fast. These measures (vaccines, chemtrails and 1080) combined aren't working! Damn it!

The Facebook group seems to be where most of the debate will happen. But, if you're not careful, you will be banned. Just like the antivaccine echo-chambers. 

The propesters seem to be a disorganised bunch. They had the idea of getting a petition together, to get 1080 banned in New Zealand, which is the end-goal, going by the name. Out of the 80,000+ members, only 8,690 people signed it. Maybe a lot of the members in the group are spectators, just there to see the sheer craziness that goes on? 

Recently as well, Clyde Graf, the documentarian appeared on The Rock FM afternoon show where the DJs, Thane and Dunc, all but agreed with his nonsense. When asked what 1080 was, Clyde's response was

"It's a.. its a...umm...synthetic poison, it's produced mixed with cereal food, attrac..ah.. used.. ah dropped from aircraft used ah to uh attract species like deer, pigs, possums and rats umm and its in the food form so that ah they'll eat it."

Seriously. The authority on anti1080 propaganda and that's what he came out with. He also claimed the research on 1080 was "anecdotal" and they can say what they like, also saying "I can say that with some authority", which is a blatant lie. He's the one with anecdotes, even admitting the reason he knows this stuff is because he's out in the bush with a camera. He and his brother are two people telling stories, their side of the debate, a highly biased one at that. That is the definition of anecdote. Find that sham of an interview here.

I think that about sums up the anti1080 propesters. Basically carbon-copies of every other science-denial/conspiracy group out there. Below are a few photos of the height of the propesters proof and protest;

Here is another excellent blog written about the similarities between antifluoride campaigners and the propesters, 1080 and Water Fluoridation: Opponents who drink from the same anti-science trough.

To sum it all up

Emotions run high on both sides of the debate. The evidence to carry on using 1080 is very clear though. It may result in unintended by-kill at times, but the sheer number of native birds saved outweighs this by a metric shit-ton. The anti1080 propesters may seem to be getting louder, but don't worry. We have evidence and proof. The relevant agencies are doing their due diligence and are constantly monitoring the situation, more research into alternatives, better baiting methods etc. Forest and Bird, who were once against 1080 in the 1980s, have now joined with Federated Farmers and are running the brilliant 1080facts.co.nz website. Two groups who would be extremely unlikely to be orchestrating a massive cover-up together.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you think I've gotten anything wrong, or want to challenge anything, feel free to. Comment down below or visit my Facebook page, Skeptical Kiwi.