Taranaki's Department of Conservation is adamant dropping 1080 in the area is the right step to boost duck numbers.
More than 50 whio ducklings were released onto Mount Taranaki last year - and another few were sent into the wilderness on Monday.
Local ranger Joe Carson says dropping the poison 1080 in the area gives the ducks a fighting chance.
"With all the increased pest control and with the good weather that we've had this year we've managed to get quite a lot of ducklings come out which is fantastic for our population, which was actually functionally extinct 20 years ago."
Ms Carson hopes this year they'll match their breeding numbers, or improve on them.
"We're hoping to try and make the population a bit more robust in terms of bloodlines," she says.
Newshub.
