Former politician Gareth Morgan has slammed the SPCA for its anti-1080 stance in a withering Facebook post.
On Tuesday, the SPCA released a statement saying it is against the use of 1080 to control introduced predators, due to the "level of suffering" the poison causes.
"Why is the SPCA in New Zealand such a sick outfit?" he writes
"If it only kept to its core business of preventing wanton cruelty to animals by those who get their jollies from such activity, the NZ SPCA would be worthy of respect. But it hasn't done that for years."
The SPCA said that it wants to see "a greater emphasis on looking for solutions that would enable species that cannot be removed to co-exist in the environment instead".
- Bird dumped at Parliament by 1080 protesters was shot by rifle - autopsy
- What is 1080, and why do people oppose it?
The organisation said that it does not regard the lives of one species over another.
Mr Morgan's acidic post calls the stance "selective morality", and says "the hypocrisy of the SPCA in New Zealand should be ridiculed for the nonsense that it is".
By "hypocrisy" Mr Morgan is referring to the SPCA saying they do not condone cruelty towards animals, while also condemning 1080.
He is of the opinion that by opposing 1080, the SPCA is condoning cruelty to animals via introduced pests.
He writes that 1080 and other toxins have "proved their worth, they are succeeding where adopted, are a massive adjunct to the trapping and bait station techniques used in areas close to human habitation".
He writes that the SPCA's stance is in "total disregard of the evidence-backed conclusions of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commissioner of the Environment, the Department of Conservation, Forest and Bird, the Regional Councils and all other organisations committed to environmental protection."
He finishes strong, with the blistering statement
"The SPCA in New Zealand needs to be sent packing. It is an enemy of conservation and the best way to ensure it sticks to its knitting of looking after the welfare of domesticated animals, is to keep cutting its donations back. Only then will the activists that drive its politics be brought to account".
Newshub.
