KEY POINTS:
The deaths of seven kea at Fox Glacier may prompt a review of the use of 1080 by the Department of Conservation.
A DOC draft internal report, obtained by The Dominion Post, said "aerial 1080 may well be a significant threat to the kea population" with some drops "probably devastating".
It said DOC had radio transmitters on 29 West Coast kea - 10 in Arawhata Valley, two in the Hohonu Range, and 17 near Fox Glacier - to see if they survived 1080 drops.
Those in the first two areas were fine, but seven near the glacier died.
The report called on DOC to review its use of 1080 and consider cutting its use where kea live.
Last week DOC defended the use of the poison to manage possum, rat and stoat populations.
- NZPA
