Duncan Macmorran

Field trials are reported in this paper on a new bait containing 1% norbormide. Two separate field trials were recently completed on commercial chicken farms in South Auckland, New Zealand. Norway rats were abundant both inside the farm sheds and around the surrounding farmland. Monitoring undertaken before toxic baiting recorded high levels of rat...

Potent second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as brodifacoum have been used as more effective alternatives to first-generation anticoagulants, such as warfarin. A combination of diphacinone at 0.005% and cholecalciferol at 0.06% produces a slow-acting bait that is effective at killing possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and rodents. Cage tri...

Stoats (Mustela erminea) were introduced to New Zealand to control rabbits in the 1880s and their impact on native birds has been devastating. Stoat control needs to be ongoing if some iconic species are to survive on the mainland. A re-setting toxin device (Spitfire) has been developed that fires a paste containing para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) o...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and remote image sensing cameras have considerable potential for use in pest control operations. UAVs equipped with remote sensing cameras could be flown over forests and remnant bush sites, particularly those not currently receiving any pest control, to record the unique spectral signature of the vegetation and to d...

The oral vaccination of wild badgers (Meles meles) with live Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is one of the tools being considered for the control of bovine tuberculosis (caused by Mycobacterium bovis) in the UK. The design of a product for oral vaccination requires that numerous, and often competing, conditions are met. These include the need for a...

Pen and small-scale field trials have been completed on a new, long-life, resetting toxin delivery system for brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Devices are designed to attract and control possums over long periods of time with minimal input and maintenance. The units are species-specific, lightweight, environmentally robust, and have the a...

Worldwide feral pigs threaten native biodiversity, agricultural production and pose a risk to biosecurity as potential disease vectors. In New Zealand, the management of feral pigs has long been restricted to hunting, trapping, fencing and limited poisoning with 1080, warfarin and phosphorus. Sodium nitrite (NaNO2) is commonly used at very low conc...

Internationally, over the last 20 years the number of tools available for the control of small mammals has declined. Through the efforts of research we have bucked this trend and retained and developed new tools. Three new toxins have been extensively researched and registered, namely para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) in 2011 for stoats and feral cats...

In New Zealand we need to develop new control tools for the overabundant brushtail possum, which is an agricultural and environmental pest. In this study we evaluated the performance of a new microencapsulated zinc phosphide (MZP) paste (1.5% w/w nominal conc.) in a captive study and at six North Island field sites. In the captive study 14 out of 1...

The risks to non-target animals that accompany the field use of rodenticides are determined in part by their tendency to bioaccummulate linked to pharmacokinetics, and comparisons are possible. We have identified a huge variation in the way that the different vertebrate pesticides are absorbed, distributed, metabolised and excreted by animals. “Low...

Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) paste was approved as a stoat control agent in New Zealand by the Environmental Protection Authority in August 2011 and for feral cat control in November 2011. PAPP was originally researched in Europe and the USA as treatment for cyanide and radiation poisoning. Over the last 10 years, our research has focused on seve...

BACKGROUND Invasive mammalian pests have inflicted substantial environmental and economic damage on a worldwide scale. RESULTSOver the last 30 years there has been minimal innovation in the development of new control tools. The development of new vertebrate pesticides, for example, has been largely restricted due to the costly and time-consuming pr...

Introduced rats continue to have a major impact on biodiversity around the world, and improved control techniques are required to avoid further extinctions. We are trialing re-setting toxin-delivery systems (Spitfires) targeting a range of predators, including rats. The rat Spitfire works by firing 800 mg of a toxic paste on to the belly of the rat...

A new low-concentration formulation of Feracol paste containing 0.4% concentration cholecalciferol was tested for efficacy against possums in cage trials, and against possums and rodents in a single unreplicated field trial. A new low-concentration 0.4% cholecalciferol cereal pellet was also tested in the field against possums and rodents. 20 wild-...

AbstrAct: Anticoagulant compounds are likely to play an important role in the control of commensal rodents for crop protection and conservation for the foreseeable future. However, there are concerns regarding their persistence and the development of more widespread resistance. We are seeking to retrieve and retain older alternatives as well as dev...

Anticoagulant compounds are likely to play an important role in the control of commensal rodents for crop protection and conservation for the foreseeable future. However there are concerns regarding their persistence and the development of more widespread resistance. We are seeking to retrieve and retain older alternatives and develop novel rodenti...

Because of the concerns regarding wildlife contamination following the field use of anticoagulants the hepatic persistence of diphacinone and coumatetralyl has been compared in deer. Initial coumatetralyl concentrations in liver following oral dosing with 8.25 mg/kg coumatetralyl were similar on day 1 to those achieved by administration of diphacin...

Bennett's wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus) are an introduced pest requiring control in New Zealand. Historically, sodium fluoroacetate (1080) has been used, but there is political resistance to this method of control from specific interest groups. Previous trials with captive animals have shown that Feratox® cyanide pellets are efficaciou...

Dama wallabies (Macropus eugenii) are an introduced pest in New Zealand requiring control. Historically, sodium fluoroacetate (1080) has been used to control wallabies but there is increasing resistance to this method of pest control. Pen trials have shown that Feratox® cyanide pellets are an effective and humane toxin for use on dama wallabies. Th...

Rodents introduced into mammal-free New Zealand seriously impact our vulnerable native flora and fauna. As a result, considerable research effort has focused on developing control techniques for reducing and/or eradicating rodents with excellent success in the eradication of both Norway and ship rats from many offshore islands. This control work ha...

Cyanide is a fast-acting toxin that has great potential for use as a disease sampling and research tool for invasive species such as feral pigs and foxes. Both species can be successfully targeted using poison baits, but current registered toxins are not suitable for disease sampling due to considerable delays between consumption and death. Incorpo...

There is controversy regarding the continued use of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) and questions regarding its humaneness. Two studies on captive animals were undertaken to assess the effectiveness and humaneness of Feratox© cyanide pellets for culling Dama and Bennett's wallabies as an alternative to 1080. Following ingestion of the toxic pellets by...

The risks of vertebrate pesticides to non-target animals are determined by intrinsic susceptibility, the toxicokinetics of the compounds used, and the degree and frequency of exposure. Metabolism and persistence studies coupled with field surveys have provided us with an improved understanding of the toxicokinetics and non-target effects of differe...

The endemic fauna of New Zealand evolved in the absence of mammalian predators and their introduction has been responsible for many extinctions and declines. Introduced species including possums (Trichosurus vulpecula Kerr), ship rats (Rattus rattus L.) and stoats (Mustela erminea L.) are targeted to protect native birds. Control methodologies curr...

In New Zealand, sodium fluoroacetate (1080) has been used for vertebrate pest control for several decades. Since the 1990s, some 1080 users have switched to brodifacoum for possum and rodent control because of its ready availability and ease of use. An awareness that field use of brodifacoum results in persistent residues provides the impetus to de...

The effectiveness of Feracol®, a possum control paste bait containing 0.8% cholecalciferol, as a rodenticide has been assessed in cage and field trials. Caged rats were provided with toxic bait in choice and no-choice tests. Feracol® was readily eaten when presented as the sole food source or with other food, and was effective at killing rats in bo...

The suitability of para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) for the humane control of stoats (Mustela erminea) and feral cats (Felis catus) is being investigated in New Zealand. Birds are potential non-targets that may be affected by this toxin. Therefore, the objective of this study was to test the toxicity of a proprietary formulation of PAPP in four bird...