1080 Poison

​​​​​​Compound 1080 or sodium monofluoroacetate is widely used in Australia and New Zealand to control pest animals.  Fluoroacetate, present in compound 1080, is naturally occurring and found in about 40 native plant species in Australia, primarily of the genus, Gastrolobium, which grow in Western Australia, across northern Australia in the Northern Territory and in central Queensland. No fluoroacetate bearing plants are known to occur in Tasmania or the other southern States.​

Compound 1080 is a white fluffy powder that is odourless and tasteless. 1080 was first synthesised in Europe in 1896 and developed in the USA as a rodenticide during the 1940s. It was first used as a rabbit poison in Tasmania in 1952.

How it is used

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is the only importer of 1080 into Tasmania and only authorised officers of the Department handle the un-mixed poison. The powder is dissolved in water to make a 1.5 per cent solution. This is coloured blue to give it a distinctive appearance to avoid accidental misuse and to reduce its acceptability to birds.

In the field, it is mixed with bait material, usually chopped carrot, to provide a final concentration of 0.014 per cent of the active ingredient.

Compound 1080 may be used to target wildlife, such as wallabies and possums only when authorised by a permit issued by officers of Game Services Tasmania in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Such permits will only be issued if it is assessed that the requirements of the Code of Practice for Use of 1080 Poison for Native Browsing Animal Control have been met and that poisoning is an essential element of their wildlife management program.

Species Susceptibility

The relative toxicity of 1080 to various animals is shown in Table 1. Dogs and cats are highly susceptible. Next are all herbivores, including the target species, Bennetts wallaby, Rufous wallaby, Brushtail possum and rabbit. Rats, wombats and humans are less susceptible, while quolls, Tasmanian devils and nearly all birds have a high tolerance to 1080 poison.

Table 1: Relative susceptibility of various animals to 1080 poison

Animal	Lethal dose mg 1080/kg​ body weight	Relative tolerance dog = 1​
Dog	0.06	1
Cat	​0.4	6
Bennett's Wallaby Rufous wallaby	<0.2 0.13	3 2
Rabbit	0.4	7
Cattle, sheep, deer	0.2-0.6	3-10
Possum	0.7	12
Rat	1.0	17
Wombat	1.5	25
Man	2.0	40
Eastern quoll	3.7	60
Tasmanian devil	4.2	70
Mouse	13	220
Birds	3-19	50-300

Secondary poisoni​ng

As can be seen from Table 1, dogs and cats are very susceptible to 1080 poison so every precaution should be taken to prevent dogs from eating poisoned carcases.

If a dog or cat ate a rufous wallaby poisoned with 1080, it could receive a lethal dose of the poison. In fact, one dead rufous wallaby could contain enough 1080 to kill 12 dogs or 9 cats. Other carnivorous animals and birds are not likely to be killed by secondary poisoning as they would need to eat their own weight in poisoned carcase to obtain a lethal dose (see Table 2).

Table 2: Amounts of poisoned Rufous wallaby likely to be fatal to various carnivores

Carnivore and weight	Number of Rufous wallabies
Dog (10 kg)	1/12 or 510 gms
Cat (2 kg)	1/9 ​​or 660 gms
Man (70 kg)	6 - 20
Eastern quoll (1.2 kg)	2/3 or 3900 gms
Tasmanian devil (5 kg)	3
Eagle (4 kg)	5

These figures are approximate and assume that:

1. the rufous wallabies weighed 6 kg and ate 50 g of carrot bait, and​

2. ​1080 is evenly distributed through the carcase.
   

The poison is present in larger concentrations in the stomach and some other organs such as liver, heart, lung, kidneys and brain. Carnivores which show a liking for these organs therefore have an increased susceptibility to secondary poisoning.

Symptoms

There is some debate about the humaneness of 1080. However, this is less so in respect of its effect on herbivores, including target species such as rabbits and wallabies. Herbivores typically show no obvious signs of poisoning until their sudden collapse. Some herbivorous animals experience convulsions, others simply lie still, breathing slowly, until death occurs. Death in herbivores is typically the result of ventricular fibrillation (heart irregularities). Symptoms of nervous distress are seen in dogs, cats, and human, but from reports from humans who have recovered, no pain is felt. Rabbits and wallabies usually die several hours after eating the bait and so may die some distance from the bait line. Therefore​​ the number of dead animals found near the bait line cannot be used to assess the success of the poisoning program.

Effect on the Environment​​

In practice, 1080 does not accumulate in the environment. If it is applied locally at relatively small rates it is readily degraded in soils, surface waters and by micro-organisms.

The usual fate of 1080 in baits is to be consumed by the target animals in the days following baiting.

Most of the 1080 ingested by animals is rapidly metabolised and/or excreted, with only low levels retained in the carcass.

Poisoning of non-target animals may occur with 1080 baiting. However, the impacts are either localised or limited to individual animals and do not result in significant adverse effects on populations of non-target animals.

Careful attention to the selection of bait material, amount of 1080 in each bait, timing and placement of baits combined with preliminary free feeding to reduce bait shyness, increases the acceptance of poisoned baits by target animals.

Comparison with other Poisons​​

Strychnine is used elsewhere in Australia for vertebrate pest control. Its use is highly restricted in Tasmania.

Use of Strychnine is highly restricted because:

• It is less humane, causing a violent death with convulsions and pain. The onset of symptoms is quick but death may not occur for 2 hours or more.

• It is less specific; all species of mammals and birds are susceptible.

• It produces a violent death near the bait line, disturbing other target animals so that fewer are killed.

• It has a bitter taste, is not water soluble and is more difficult to use.

• It is more dangerous. A child would be readily killed by one piece of apple poisoned with strychnine, but would need to eat at least 15 pieces of carrot poisoned with 1080.

• It is not broken down on the bait or in the soil.

Other poisons, such as organophosphate pesticides, may not be used legally for vertebrate pest control. These poisons are totally non-selective and their use could threaten the survival of some species, particularly predator birds such as hawks and eagles.

Pindone is used for rabbit control in areas where there is an increased risk of secondary poisoning of dogs. It is a first generation anticoagulant, Vitamin K1(phytomenadione) is an effective antedote. Native carnivores and birds of prey are at lower risk from eating carcasses of animals that have been poisoned with Pindone than for second generation anticogulants as it requires multiple feeds and breaks down quickly in the body.

Summary​​

Compound 1080 is the most effective vertebrate pest poison currently available. It is relatively species-specific, it is relatively humane in terms of its effects on herbivores and it is biodegradable and does not accumulate in the food chain.