1080 bait gives hope to critically endangered western ground parrot

FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL: The western ground parrot is being killed off by feral cats. Picture: DECONE of WA's most critically endangered birds has been thrown a lifeline after a successful baiting trial to eradicate feral cats in the South-West.

Department of Environment and Conservation officers dropped controversial 1080 poison over 161,000ha of Fitzgerald River and Cape Arid National Parks in April, in a last ditch effort to save the western ground parrot - which is teetering on the edge of extinction. 

The moves comes after five years of trials using non-toxic alternatives.

DEC conservation officer Cameron Tiller said monitoring of both feral cats and native fauna show the 1080 trial has, so far, been a success.

“Half the feral cats collared were killed within two weeks of bait delivery, with no mortality recorded in any of the collared native species,” Mr Tiller said.

“We know a few native species individuals ingested the baits, as we used a biomarker that showed up on new hair growth under a microscope, but we found no evidence that these species consumed a sufficient quantity to provide a lethal dose, while cats were extremely susceptible to the baits.

“Eradicat (1080) baits have already proven highly successful in controlling feral cats and other introduced predators in arid and semi-arid regions in WA, but this trial is showing there is potential for the use of cat baits in temperate regions where the product is yet to be proven.”

The western ground parrot is only found in the two National Parks and monitoring warns if current declines are not halted, the parrot could be the first bird to become extinct in Australia since the early 1930s. 

There are currently only 140 of the species left in the wild.

Radio collars fitted to the cats recorded their location every two hours for up to six weeks, with the information providing an insight into the animal's behaviour.

“During Autumn 2011, DEC intends to repeat the same trials in Fitzgerald River National Park and introduce trials to Cape Arid National Park, where different baits will be compared to further reduce uptake by native species while maintaining a high knockdown of feral predators,” Mr Tiller said.

As part of a wider approach to conserving the western ground parrot, a small number of birds have been captured for husbandry research and to establish a captive bred population as a risk mitigation measure, so populations can be re-established in areas where predator control has been effective.