Federated Farmers Challenged Over Tb-free Rort

A New Zealand-based farmers’ organisation “Farmers Against Ten-Eighty”, opposed to the use of 1080 poison, has challenged Federated Farmers NZ to explain its support for TbfreeNZ Ltd for its policy of aerially blanket spreading the poison.

Spokes woman, Mary Molloy who with husband Lindsay, runs a dairy farm at Hari Hari said the answers by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy to questions about TB incidence in possums, from NZ First farming spokesman Richard Prosser, vindicated FATE’s opposition to the poison but raised serious questions about Federated Farmers NZ’s stance.

“Tb is hardly an issue with incidence of 0.04 percent well below the international guidelines of 0.2 percent herd prevalence, and 0.1 percent wild animal prevalence,” said Mary Molloy. “TbFree and Federated Farmers have wrongly labelled possums as the number one Tb carrier. They’re not."

In reply to Richard Prosser’s questions in Parliament, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy replied that over a ten year period, 124,000 autopsied possums showed an incidence of 0.04 per cent while 9830 possums autopsied last year showed zero incidence..

Mary Molloy said Tb was "hardly an issue" in New Zealand and possums were largely Tb free. Millions of dollars were spent each year by Tbfree with farmers paying compulsory levies with all rate and taxpayers including farmers were paying for poisoning that was never needed.

“The support of Federated Farmers for TbFree’s campaign against a mythical Tb carrier, ensures that for every Tb cow or deer at the works $2 million has been spent. Is that cost effective? Is it a hoax or rort? FATE thinks there’s serious questions to be asked and answered. Is the Tbfree/Ospri mammoth poison industry sucking off money from farmers, ratepayers and taxpayers entirely under false pretences? Is the current poison machine based on lies and scare tactics, spin and propaganda?"

The figures revealed by Richard Prosser’s questions suggest strongly that there is no Tb problem. New Zealand is well under international guidelines.

Mary Molloy said New Zealand should immediately declare itself Tb free and not keep giving to Tbfree Ltd which bizarrely was a charitable trust.

"Rural people and cattle and deer farmers have been paying this charitable trust - formerly the Animal Health Board charitable trust - millions of dollars in compulsory levies, rates and taxes for absolutely nothing to do with farming, nothing to do with tuberculosis but rather to support the poison industry."

Farmers Against Ten Eighty demand an immediate halt to this apparent misappropriation she said.

"Then establish a couple of younger, independent thinking vets within the Ministry of Primary Industries to mop up any remaining disease, de-structure any other organisations and adhere to World standards regarding Tb.”

The very few herds which continued with Tb infection could be depopulated and replaced with "top of the line" animals and a "how to" programme of maintaining that disease-free quality.

"Monitoring from time to time and at the freezing works should take care of everything else."

In addition the Department of Conservation should have to justify their battering of the birds with aerially spread poisons and fold up their side of the Tb/1080 wasteful farce now.

ENDS

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