Sensitivity of native animals
Many native animals in Western Australia have co-evolved with fluoroacetate-bearing plants, and as a consequence, are often quite tolerant to 1080. That is, they can generally eat some of the toxic plants or animals containing 1080 (fluoroacetate) with little risk of being poisoned. However, in contrast, the same genus/species of animals in south-eastern Australia, where the toxic plants do not occur, are generally much more sensitive to 1080 (Table 2). Thus, the enhanced tolerance of our native animals makes 1080 a particularly useful and target specific toxin in WA. However, provided that best practice procedures are followed, enhanced tolerance to 1080 is not a prerequisite for safe and effective baiting programs.
| Species | LD50 (mg/kg) |
|---|---|
| Bobtail skink Western Australia South Australia |
>800 201 |
| Rosenberg’s goanna Western Australia South Australia |
235 38 |
| Brushtail possum Western Australia South Australia |
118 0.64-0.84 |
| Western grey kangaroo | 47 |
| Eastern grey kangaroo | 0.29 |
| Banded hare-wallaby | 106 |
| Chuditch/Western quoll | 7.1 |
| Red-tail phascogale | 16.5 |
| Emu | 96 |
| Malleefowl | 106 |
| Bronzewing pigeon | 38 |
| Western rosella | 71 |
| Brown falcon | ~30 |
| Barn owl | ~22 |