Baiting with 1080 poison

This video shows how using baits is an environmentally responsible option for managing pests.

Cost of pest animals

Controlling pest animals is essential for the conservation of endangered native animals and for minimising the impacts of pests on native plants. If 1080 was not able to be used in pest control programs, many more native animals would be threatened with extinction.

Pests also kill or maim sheep and other livestock. They spread diseases and degrade natural areas.

Pests have cost the Australian economy over $65 billion since 1960. The annual cost of managing each pest ranges from $200 million for rabbits, $230 million for foxes, $110 million for feral pigs, and $58 million for wild dogs.

Using 1080 pesticide is cost-effective method for pest control.

1080 is a highly regulated poison, with numerous government agencies helping to make sure it is used safely and effectively.

Australian Pesticides Veterinary Management Authority (APVMA)

The APVMA is the Australian Government statutory authority responsible for registration of agricultural and veterinary chemical products. Before a chemical product like 1080 can be sold or manufactured in Australia, it must be assessed to make sure that it is safe for use and works as claimed by the manufacturer.

The APVMA conducted a chemical review of 1080 in 2008, which resulted in new conditions being imposed on the products, and updates to product labels to make sure they were safe and effective. Learn more about the registration of 1080.

SA regulations

1080 regulations in South Australia reduce the risk of misuse and poisoning native animals, pets, and livestock from exposure to it. These include requirements for burying baits, safe storage, and safe disposal.

PIRSA and SA Health regulate the use of 1080. Our rural chemical operations division is responsible for investigating reports of misuse – you can report the misuse of baits and chemicals.

Regional landscape boards, National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Dog Fence Board have 1080 baiting licences, which are issued by SA Health. Those licences allow them to train landholders and provide them with baits.

Soil and plants

1080 is a synthetic copy of a naturally occurring compound in plants. It is biodegradable, which means its basic, safe components can safely compost back into the earth.

1080 baits soften and break down with rain or dew, if they are not eaten by pests. This process causes the compound to leach into the soil and leaf litter, where the dilution process continues. When 1080 is composting in the soil, plants do not absorb it easily, so it does not build up inside plants.

Once in the soil, bacteria and fungi compost and detoxify the 1080. Studies in the lab and in the bush have shown that soil bacteria thrive when 1080 is present. These bacteria occur naturally in soils across Australia.

The timeframe for this composting process depends on the climate. When the temperature is about 10 to 20 degrees, and where moisture is present, 1080 is broken down by soil organisms in 1 to 2 weeks. In cold, dry conditions, it may take a few months to compost.

Waterways and aquatic life

1080 is a toxin that dissolves and breaks down in water. In South Australia, there are minimum bait distances in permanent flowing water, to protect waterways and aquatic life even more.

It is used a lot in New Zealand, and studies there show that when 1080 is placed in a stream, it becomes untraceable after 8 hours. 1080 has never been detected in drinking water in New Zealand.

Studies on aquatic life show that 1080 baiting has not affected trout, nymphs, fish, or the water environments they live in. Trout were not harmed when they consumed 1080.

1080 is the most efficient, humane, and species-specific pesticide available in Australia.

The toxin is found in more than 30 native Australian plants, which evolved to produce 1080 as a defence against herbivores. In response, over time many native animals evolved a high tolerance to 1080. Scientific studies have assessed the risks of 1080 poison on native:

• birds
• reptiles
• amphibians
• mammals, including carnivorous marsupials such as quolls.

The studies show there is no threat from 1080 to populations of these animals.

Effect on pest animals

1080 is only poisonous when it is eaten. After the bait is eaten by a dog or a fox, death can take between 30 and 180 minutes.

1080 kills pest animals by starving calcium and energy from cells, disrupting the central nervous system, which leads to unconsciousness. After the poison takes effect, the dog or fox is initially disorientated and then becomes unconscious and cannot feel pain.

1080 poison bait can kill working dogs, some pets and livestock. Those animals must be kept away from baits and the carcasses of pest animals that have been baited with 1080.

The poison can stay in a carcass for several months, particularly in cold dry areas, where it degrades slowly.

You can reduce the risk to these non-target animals by following the bait label and directions for use.

Notify your neighbours

You must tell your neighbours before you start a 1080 baiting program, noting that:

• poison baits will be laid on your property
• your neighbours will need to keep their dogs and other animals muzzled, or restricted to their own properties.

There is a legal requirement to notify your immediate neighbours, but we also recommend notifying other neighbours within 1 kilometre of your property.

Poison bait signs also need to be put on property entrances and property boundaries next to public roads. This reminds neighbours and tells visitors that there are poison baits around.

Protect native animals

Native animals have some tolerance to 1080, but extra measures can reduce the risk to them. For example, burying fox and wild dog baits 8 to 10 cm underground reduces the risk of native birds and lizards finding and eating baits.

At the end of a baiting program, all old, degraded and remaining baits must be burnt or buried at least 0.5 metres underground, away from waterways and desired vegetation.

The term LD₅₀ refers to the amount of poison that, under controlled conditions, would be a lethal dose for 50 percent of test animals of a particular species.

The value is expressed for a single dose. It is the number of milligrams of the substance per kilogram of body weight. The LD₅₀ does not indicate how long an animal takes to die.

Factors affecting LD₅₀:

• values may vary with age, sex and nutritional status
• many native animals in western and central Australia have a higher tolerance to 1080 than similar species in eastern Australia, due to differences in their exposure to naturally occurring fluoroacetate from indigenous plants.

Extensive research has been undertaken to determine the LD₅₀ of animals in Australia. Download the relative susceptibilities of non-target animals to 1080 (PDF 371.8 KB)

Livestock industry

Introduced pests, such as foxes and wild dogs, severely impact our livestock producers. Both species kill for food, but it’s common for them to kill more than they need to eat.

Foxes can reduce lambing by as much as 30 percent. Wild dogs have been known to kill up to 50 adult sheep in one night.

Studies show that using 1080 for pest control reduces the number of livestock losses.

Native animals

Numerous studies across Australia have shown the positive impact of 1080 baiting on native animals.

Once endangered, populations of the black-flanked rock wallaby have recovered because of 1080 baiting. These programs targeted foxes in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia over a 25-year period.

In East Gippsland, one study showed that long-nosed potoroos, southern brown bandicoots, common brushtail possums and ringtail possums increased after 1080 baiting for foxes was undertaken.

Across the Flinders Rangers, reports found increased numbers of quolls, echidnas, and lizards. These population increases coincide with 1080 baiting targeting wild dogs, foxes, and cats.

Research papers

• Kinnear J. E., Krebs C. J., Pentland C., Orell P., Holme C., Karvinen R. (2010) Predator-baiting experiments for the conservation of rock-wallabies in Western Australia: A 25-year review with recent advances. Wildlife Research 37, 57-67.
• Dexter N., Murray A. (2009) The impact of fox control on the relative abundance of forest mammals in East Gippsland, Victoria. Wildlife Research 36, 252-261.