Bay poison drop barbaric say locals

Northern Hawke's Bay residents have condemned a proposed blanket aerial drop of 1080 poison in 55,000ha of Urewera National Park after a Tb scare as "cruel, barbaric, disgraceful, criminal and absolutely unnecessary".
However, the Animal Health Board says the aerial drop, over 51,000ha, is necessary to stop the spread of Tb north to the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne areas.
Another 4000ha will be done by ground control during winter.
Animal Health Board southern North Island regional co-ordinator Terry Hynes said outbreaks of Tb in an area around the upper Whirinaki and Te Hoe rivers area, west of Lake Waikaremoana, were spread by migrating animals such as pigs, possums and deer.
He said the infections found had nothing to do with Tb found in farmed cattle in the Ohuka area west of Wairoa in 2004. Those cattle had been brought into the area from an area previously believed to be clear of the disease.
The Urewera drop has been described by farmers as a mass killing of the environment in the name of preventing bovine Tb.
Farmers on the fringes of the proposed drop are bewildered at a press release from Environment Bay of Plenty saying repeated surveys of wildlife have produced strong evidence of a Tb front through the rivers' area.
Environment Bay of Plenty vector manager Greg Corbett said the surveys had found two Tb-infected deer in 2001 in central Whirinaki; the following year nothing; in 2003 an infected pig turned u; 2004 nothing and late last year two infected deer were found.
No Tb-infected possums had been found.
Animal Health Board (AHB) Bay of Plenty district disease control manager Stuart Hutchings said it was important to act quickly to reduce the numbers of possums to a low level to reduce the risk of Tb.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council biosecurity manager Andrew Wilkie said the poisoning would be done during winter while other food sources were low, to kill as many possums as possible, as well as rats and mustelids, such as stoats.
"This is of the most benefit to the birdlife," Mr Wilkie said.
Kiwi were known not to eat the 1080 baits and the kokako in the area were not ground-feeding birds.
However, farmers and iwi in the region do not accept a blanket aerial drop of 1080 is the answer.
After a consultation hui in Tuai about the proposed application of 1080, the Waikaremoana Maori Committee said there was a general consensus between local hapu and community opposing the aerial application. They believed alternative solutions should be sought.
A farmer on the Wairoa side of the Ureweras, Kay Foote, said the blanket drop would have an impact on everyone who used the park.
"It will kill anything and everything, kill the deer, write off the bird life, affect the fish downstream, because insects will be eliminated. It should not be allowed. It is criminal and absolutely unnecessary," she said. "They are playing God ... It's destroying nature." Willow Flat farmer Ian Brickell was adamant ground-based control worked better than aerial drops.
"We certainly don't want Tb around here but we are just as certain the only way Tb has got into stock around here is on the back of a truck," Mr Brickell said.
Gisborne-Wairoa farmer Mark Boenders, who manages Landcorp's Waihi Station, said aerial 1080 poisoning of such a huge area was barbaric.
"It's cruel - nothing dies instantly. They are targeting deer, pigs and possums but drop it in rivers and creeks as well."
He had been involved with meetings about the 1080 drops and said talking to the AHB was like talking to a wall.
"They should spend more money on better tracking of cattle and heavier penalties for people who truck them in. That is how Tb gets in around here."