Clyde Graf, a campaigner against the use of 1080, says flight charts show that the poison was dropped throughout the forest and over waterways in the Hunua Ranges. But the Auckland Council says that 1080 drops are the most effective way of managing the pest problem in the range bordering the region.
21,000ha of Kohukohunui in the Hunua Ranges were sprayed in an aerial 1080 drop.
Rachel Kelleher from the Auckland Council says, "One of the benefits we get from using aerial 1080 that we get is immediate and incredible effective results in reducing pest numbers."
The local iwi say they agreed to the operation as an immediate means to eradicate and control the pests causing devastation to the forest.
Tipa Compain (Ngāti Whanaunga) says, "We need to make sure that we come up with a medium to long-term solution and do not allow the pest population to a level to have to do this massive 1080 drop on Kohukohunui."
The Auckland City Council says 1080 poison was not dropped over the water reservoirs in the Hunua Ranges. However, Clyde Graf, an objector to the use of 1080, says flight charts of the aerial drops show waters were sprayed.
Graf says, "They flew across all the forest and the streams - all the streams within the forest and dropped 1080 poison across the forest and the streams which feeds the dams."
Kelleher says, "We sampled water within 8 hours of the operation being carried out and of those 300 samples taken not a single one has shown 1080."
The Auckland City Council says they foresee another 1080 drop in three years and they believe there is benefit in its use.
"If I was to do a scale of 1 to 10 and 10 was the worst in terms of rat population and possum population, we are down to a 2," says Compain.