Persistence of Sodium Monofluoroacetate in Livestock Animals and Risk to Humans

Abstract

1 Sodium monofluoroacetate (1080), a vertebrate pesticide widely used in New Zealand, was administered orally to sheep and goats at a dose level of 0.1 mg kg-1 body weight to assess risk to humans of secondary poisoning from meat. Blood, muscle, liver, and kidney were analysed for 1080 residues. 2 The plasma elimination half-life was 10.8 h in sheep and 5.4 h in goats. Concentrations of 1080 in muscle (0.042 ?g g-1), kidney (0.057 ?g g-1), and liver (0.021 ?g g-1) were substantially lower than those in plasma (0.098 ?g m-1) at 2.5 h after dosing. 3 Only traces of 1080 (<0.002 to 0.008 ?g g-1) were found in sheep tissues after 96 hours. 4 Livestock are normally excluded from areas where 1080 is being used for pest control, reducing the risk of secondary poisoning. Even with accidental exposure to a sublethal dose 1080 would not persist in tissues for more than a few days because it is cleared rapidly from the body. Therefore the occurrence of 1080 in meat intended for human consumption is highly unlikely.