Northern Beaches companion animals, long-nosed bandicoots, kookaburras, powerful owls, and all wildlife will now be safe from 1080 poisoning thanks to Northern Beaches Council voting (11-3) to ban the use of 1080 poison on council land.
The motion to ban the cruel poison was led by Greens Councillor Ethan Hrnjak with the support of many stakeholders from animal welfare, dogwalking and environmental groups and strongly supported by the Northern Beaches local community. A dog named 'Bo' was the most recent victim to 1080 poison in the Northern Beaches in January this year. Hopefully he will be the last animal to die a cruel and painful death in this LGA.
This decision will see Northern Beaches Council become the third council in NSW to ban 1080 poison from council operations, joining Campbelltown and the Blue Mountains councils.
As stated by Ethan Hrnjak, Greens Northern Beaches Councillor:
"Thanks to the combined efforts of local residents, support from the Coalition against 1080 and the Northern Beaches Animal Justice Branch, I was thrilled that a majority of Councillors agreed on Tuesday night that toxic, outdated 1080 poison has no place on the Northern Beaches.
"Sodium fluoroacetate-1080-is not a targeted control method. It does not distinguish between a fox, a bandicoot, a goanna, a companion animal, or a raptor that scavenges a poisoned carcass. It is an indiscriminate, broad-spectrum toxin that causes convulsions, vomiting, cardiac distress and hours of prolonged suffering before death.
"In this day and age, we cannot continue to allow the use of a chemical that is banned in most of the world and recognised as inhumane by leading vet and animal welfare bodies.
"This effort was initiated by a report I requested in August last year into humane alternatives. The report came back confirming that staff already use and prefer more accurate, effective and humane alternatives to 1080 such as shooting, trapping and den fumigation. I'm thrilled this ban means companion animals, wildlife and our community on the Northern Beaches don't have to fear the terrible outcomes of accidental or secondary 1080 poisoning in our council reserves again."
As stated by Kristyn Glanville, Greens Northern Beaches Councillor:
"The Greens are committed to leading sustainable management of invasive species by council, pushing for humane and evidence based approaches, rather than reactively waiting for other regulators to finally take action.
"This achievement builds on ongoing work by the Greens on Northern Beaches Council in 2022 and 2023, where I led a phase out of use of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs), an audit on Council's use of chemicals, and discontinuing use of Thiamethoxan."
As stated by Abigail Boyd, Greens NSW MLC and Spokesperson for Animal Welfare:
"This is a fantastic win for the Northern Beaches native wildlife, as well as great news for all of the pets of the Northern Beaches, and their families, who can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that going off-leash at a park won't end up being a painful death sentence.
"The use of 1080 poison is a cruel, ineffective and antiquated method of managing non-native species, and is wreaking havoc on ecosystems across our state, killing native wildlife indiscriminately.
"Death by 1080 poison is slow, painful and uncontrollable, and it is simply impossible for this highly toxic poison to discriminate between pests and native animals. The result? Countless native quolls, dingoes, birds, possums, and even unsuspecting pet dogs who come across the poison, end up being killed by accident.
"What we urgently need is a statewide ban on the use of 1080 as well as other harmful pesticides like Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs), paired with government investment in evidence-based, non-lethal pest management alternatives."
