Federated Farmers Astray on 1080

Federated Farmers Astray on 1080 Issue Says West Coast Farmer

Federated Farmers by dogmatically backing large scale use of poisons against wild animals, are heading upstream against an increasing flow of farmer opinion says Farmers Against Ten Eighty (FATE) spokesperson and dairy farmer Mary Molloy of Hari Hari.

Mrs Molloy who has terminated her 40 year membership of Federated Farmers over the 1080 issue said many farmer FATE members were mystified at Federated Farmers' blind support for 1080 and the consequent waste of farmer and taxpayer money by the Animal Health Board and Department of Conservation.
"How can we possibly trust them (Feds.) to work for us ordinary, hard-working farmers?" she said.

Mrs Molloy said Federated Farmers, had trademarked FATE on behalf of the Animal Health Board and termed the action as yet another under-handed way of ensuring the continuation of the 1080 poison industry and its "gravy train". She was told by Lachlan McKenzie, Dairy Rep Federated Farmers that the organisation had initiated the "strategic move" after reading the many 1080 articles FATE had submitted.

Mrs Molloy said it appeared the supporters - and beneficiaries - of the very large 1080 "industry", used half-truths, outright lies and devious, underhand tactics to justify the use of toxins.

"Federated Farmers has been trusted with great financial resources by its farmer base and the responsibility of overseeing farmer needs and in the case of TB control, of how the Animal Health board uses farmer levies and taxpayer money. Federated Farmers should take the blinkers off and ask the hard questions, rather than trying to stomp on the growing voluntary, anti - poison group of concerned farmers. Stop using 1080 poison - its that simple!"

The justification for blaming wild animals was very suspect since the skin test used to detect TB infected stock was only 80% accurate. A number of cases have belatedly been found where infected stock, that tested clear by the skin test, were the reservoir for continuing reactors in a herd.

In addition the Animal Health Board should focus on farm infection and bush pasture margins where highest possum numbers lived, not the wider indiscriminate slaughter of wildlife from insects to birds and animals. "Current policy and willy nilly poison drops are a blatant a waste of taxpayer, levy payer money."

Mrs Molloy said FATE was willing to work with the Animal Health Board to achieve sensible policies and programmes as has been done in other countries, without wholesale slaughter of New Zealand's biodiversity.

"We are not more clever than other countries who have banned 1080 use, we are exploited by a few for the benefit of a poison industry - how can that be right?"
Mrs Molloy said the widespread and wanton use of 1080 by the AHB and DOC was potentially very damaging to New Zealand's boast of "clean and green" and "100% pure," a vital brand for export markets.

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