What is PAPP?

Para-aminopropiophenone, or ‘PAPP’, is a poison that is used instead of 1080 in some circumstances. Though it is considered more humane than 1080, there are serious implications if it ever replaces 1080 poison.

What is PAPP?

PAPP is a yellow compound that is used in commercially prepared meat baits to kill dingoes, foxes and cats.

When used to kill cats or foxes, it is used in automated traps that spray poisonous gel onto their coats to exploit their innate grooming behaviours. “Curiosity” baits, also used to kill cats, are sausages implanted with a pellet containing PAPP poison. PAPP baits are used in used in national parks, nature reserves, state forests and on private property. They can be laid on the ground or are used in Canid Pest Ejectors.

When PAPP was developed in 2016, it was the first new poison used to kill foxes and dingoes in 50 years since 1080 was first used in the 1950s. It is also manufactured and used in New Zealand, where it has been used to kill cats and stoats since 2011. Like 1080 poison, PAPP is a Schedule 7 chemical in Australia.

Who made PAPP?

PAPP was developed collaboratively by the primary producers of poison baits in Australia (Animal Control Technologies Australia or ‘ACTA’), the peak lobby group for the Australian wool industry (Australian Wool Innovation or ‘AWI’) and the Federal Government. AWI is one of the primary users and promoters of 1080, most notably as part of the National Wild Dog Action Plan - which was once simply called the "Kill More Dogs Initiative".

Development of PAPP began at the time the federal regulator of chemicals, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (‘APVMA’), initiated a review of 1080 poison. This review was initiated due to community concerns about the poisoning of "non-target animals". The review ended up taking over 10 years and during the time it took to finalise, Dr. Miranda Sherley published a study explicitly stating 1080 is inhumane.

At the time of the APVMA review, PAPP may have been considered as a replacement if that review led to systemic changes in the way 1080 poison could be used. The Australian manufacturers of 1080 baits explained that:

“the decision to invest in the development of PAPP as a possible new toxin occurred at a time of the APVMA calling for a special review of 1080 [and] during this time there was concern and uncertainty about the future"

In other words, PAPP was so enthusiastically developed because the manufacturers of 1080 poison were unsure if it would still be legal to use. Since then, the APVMA review led to no changes and 1080 poison continues to be used in every Australian state and territory. And unlike other poisons, the Federal Government offered PAPP under a licensing agreement to commercial suppliers while retaining the proprietary. In a 2016 newsletter, ACTA explained that the wool industry put "the original risk capital” behind developing PAPP, which it described as a “relatively uncertain R&D project”. Since then, royalties have been paid to each partner from the sale of PAPP baits.

How does PAPP work?

PAPP reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood by impacting haemoglobin levels in poisoned animals. This causes them to become tired and lose coordination. Animals poisoned with PAPP lose consciousness and, eventually, die due to lack of oxygen to the brain and heart.

PAPP is similar to 1080 poison in a number of ways. Like 1080 poison, PAPP impairs species differently. And like 1080 poison, members of the dog and cat families - including domestic dogs, cats and foxes and dingoes - are the most susceptible to PAPP poisoning.

Where is PAPP used?

PAPP baits are to kill dingoes and foxes used in:

• Victoria

• New South Wales

• Queensland

• South Australia and

• Western Australia.

The baits - known as DOGABAIT and FOXECUTE - have been approved by the APVMA. Both baits are manufactured and distributed by ACTA. PAPP baits used to kill dingoes contain small yellow or orange beads that can be used to differentiate death from PAPP poisoning from other causes because they remain in the gut of poisoned animals (commercially prepared 1080 baits contain red beads).

Is PAPP poison humane?

Though supporters of poisoning claim that PAPP “basically euthanises animals by putting them to sleep”, there are serious welfare concerns with its use.

The time from ingestion to the onset of symptoms is around 30 minutes and death usually occurs within one or two hours. Before they die, some animals experience anxiety and distress because they are unable to move despite still being conscious. This means that animals poisoned with PAPP are exposed to predation or exposure to environmental extremes during this period. Dogs poisoned with PAPP often vomit, especially during the later stages before death.

PAPP has been marketed as a viable and more humane alternative to 1080 poison. But since there is no legal push to stop using 1080, PAPP has not replaced it and governments can cite its development as evidence that effort and funds are being expended to produce marginally more humane alternatives to 1080.

Will PAPP replace 1080 poison?

PAPP is not intended to replace 1080 baiting programs but to "complement" them. Pestsmart, a platform managed by Centre for Invasive Species Solutions and funded by the Australian Government, state that "baits containing 1080 are expected to remain the most common approach" and that:

"PAPP will be available in addition to 1080 and is designed to allow poison baiting to still be an option in places where 1080 use is restricted".

PAPP was intended to “fill the gaps” in areas where 1080 poison cannot be used (i.e., in urban areas). For these reasons, PAPP is considered an alternative “lethal control tool” and 1080 is expected to remain the “main tool” used to kill dingoes. Indeed, the same year PAPP was authorised its manufacturer explained that it “would not replace 1080”. That is, it is not an attempt to phase-out or replace 1080: it has been developed to be used in addition to 1080.

Why wont PAPP replace 1080 poison?

PAPP does not occur naturally. It is synthesised from a precursor chemical. Because the manufacturing process releases corrosive by-products that can damage production equipment, it is more expensive to produce than 1080 poison. One PAPP bait is at least three times as expensive as 1080 baits.

PAPP only comes pre-manufactured not in liquid form so landholders can't lace their own baits. A higher dose is also used in PAPP baits: between 400mg and 1000mg of PAPP compared to 3 or 6 mg of 1080 poison for foxes and dingoes, respectively.

Is there an antidote to PAPP poison?

The manufacturers of PAPP baits have amended earlier marketing rhetoric regarding the antidote to emphasise that "PAPP acts very fast” and "“death can occur within 1-2 hours of a bait being taken". This causes a series of problems, including the time between recognition of symptoms and the small window of opportunity to administer the antidote.

ACTA have acknowledged this, saying that:

"if the antidote is not administered within this time frame an animal will not be saved [and that] this is a problem in areas that are distant from a vet, but may also be a problem if the symptoms are not noticed"

Pestsmart also note that "poisoned animals show few signs of pain or distress”. Others have explained that PAPP poisoning is “relative free of symptoms”. For example, ACTA explain that "since the initial symptoms are lethargy, an affected animal may be mistakeb for a resting animal”. This admission, coupled with the short time-frame required to administer the antidote (i.e., within half an hour after ingestion) mean that it's marketing as “preventable” is ambiguous at best. ACTA’s managing director soon came clean and acknowledged that PAPP’s alleged antidote “was oversold”.

In 2016, the manufacturers of PAPP baits published a newsletter stating that:

"while it has commonly been said or implied that PAPP is 'safe' because there is a cheap, readily available and effective antidote, this message now requires further qualifying and clarification".

The newsletter goes on to say that:

"in the initial development of PAPP baits it was hoped that a failsafe antidote in all circumstances would make the baits safer for working and pet dogs [and] while it remains true that there is a way to overcome the immediate effects of PAPP, the story is more complicated and some additional precautions are needed".

Under existing regulations, the antidote known as “Blue Healer” can only be administered, via IV injection, by a veterinarian who has stock in reserve. The antidote itself can be fatal if administered in excessive quantities.

Is PAPP safer than 1080 poison?

Despite claims that PAPP can be thrown “out of the back of a LandCruiser or even an aircraft”, the Veterinary Practitioners Board of New South Wales advises that PAPP is not safe for domestic or working dogs because it is highly toxic. They also warn that members of the cat and dog families are “highly susceptible” to PAPP poisoning due to the species-specific way they metabolise PAPP poison.

PAPP is also known to impact some native animals, such as goannas, lace monitors and Tasmanian devils. For this reason the aerial deployment of PAPP baits has not been approved. There is also the risk of secondary poisoning if an animal eats a bait in the stomach of the first victim before the toxin degrades.

In addition, large numbers of PAPP baits must be laid. The typical density is 50 baits per square km, which 10 times higher than the recommended fox baiting density.

Because cats hunt using sight and sound, they rarely locate a stationary sausage containing PAPP poison. Even if cats find baits, most - up to 80% - do not eat them. Instead, they frequently ignore, sniff or avoid baits if they find them. PAPP baits remain lethal for between 7 and 16 weeks after distribution.

Answers and alternatives

Some ideas and practices become so embedded in society that assumptions come to be seen as “common sense”. The assumption that has allowed poisons, such as 1080 and PAPP, to continue to be used in Australia is that “we have always used them, so they must be OK”. Yet since 1080 poison was first used in Australia, some “disturbing evidence has emerged” which reveals its ongoing use is creating some critical “management conundrums that are proving difficult to resolve”. As we have shown, this has not led to the development of humane alternatives but new poisons.

Considerable funding and effort continues to expended on poisoning programs and new techniques across Australia. Despite calls for including higher welfare standards in wildlife management decision-making processes and increasing concerns that current lethal programs are not based on evidence of effectiveness, with some research demonstrating its “marked decline” in some states as early as the 1980s, Australian governments often demonstrate little support for investing in or trialling non-lethal alternatives. This differs markedly from approaches taken in other parts of the world. In some parts of the United States, nonlethal methods are a legal requirement before lethal control can be used to kill wolves.