Renewed warning for dog owners
Greater Wellington staff have found eight possum carcasses between Upper Hutt and Eastbourne during four days of searching (31 August – 3 September). Staff are continuing to search the Hutt River daily until the water level returns to normal.
Heavy rain on 30 and 31 August may have washed possum carcasses poisoned with 1080, from a 7 August possum control north of Upper Hutt, down the Hutt River and into Wellington Harbour.
Greater Wellington has placed 250 warning signs at access points to the river and beaches from Te Marua to south of Eastbourne.
Greater Wellington Senior Biosecurity Officer Ray Clarey says it is common for dead feral animals and livestock to wash down rivers during heavy rain. However, with the recent 1080 possum control operation north of Upper Hutt, people should treat all possum carcasses as potentially poisonous, particularly dog owners.
Mr Clarey says any possum carcasses are not a threat to people but would still be poisonous to dogs.
He has a simple message for dog owners who walk their dogs along the Hutt River bank or the beaches from Petone southeast to Pencarrow.
“Please keep your dogs on a lead when using these areas, until the warning signs have been taken down. A decaying possum is a tasty morsel for any dog, no matter how well fed it is. If that possum has been poisoned by 1080 it will poison the dog.
“If dogs have any contact with possum carcasses in the vicinity of those areas, owners should get their dog to vomit and take it to a vet urgently.”
This warning could last for up to two months depending on how long it takes for the possum carcasses to breakdown. Staff are monitoring the breakdown of possum carcasses in the forest north of Upper Hutt, where the possum control operation took place.
Mr Clarey says the flood triggered an emergency response plan where a dozen staff started placing warning signs at areas of risk and searching those areas for possum carcasses.
“While the river was too high to search we concentrated on the beaches and then re-checked them daily after the high tide. On 1 September the river had receded so we had three teams working – one from Totara Park north, one from Totara Park south and one from Petone north. The river took two days to search. We re-checked it daily as the water level fell.
"So far four possum carcasses have been found on the beaches between Petone and Eastbourne and four on the riverbed – two at Avalon and two near the Moonshine Road Bridge. Tissue samples from possums suspected of 1080 poisioning will be sent away for testing."
For more information, contact our media team