KAKA withdraws its “1080% Pure – Yeah right” campaign
Lawyer Claims 100%Pure/Clean/Green N.Z. Brand IP Breach

A community group behind a campaign to stop the broad scale, indiscriminate use of sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) poison in wilderness areas of the South Island of New Zealand has agreed to withdraw its “1080% Pure – Yeah Right” protest campaign following a legal request from Tourism New Zealand (TNZ).

Karameans Advocating Kahurangi Action (KAKA) – a community group established in January 2008 – was using the derivation of TNZ’s international brand campaign through media, the internet and other means to draw national and international attention to the air-dropping of baits across one of the country’s most pristine environments.

“We are absolutely committed to protecting the integrity of New Zealand’s position as one of the world’s most unspoilt environments – that being the whole point of our campaign,” a KAKA spokesperson said.

“We have been asked to stop using a derivation of Tourism New Zealand’s brand positioning by its lawyers because of the potential damage it may do to the nation’s reputation overseas – and of course we will.

“But we would also ask that those behind the indiscriminate aerial poison baiting of wilderness areas also stop their environmental vandalism for exactly the same reason – they’re killing the integrity of New Zealand’s clean and green position in the world’s psyche, quite apart from the significant collateral damage they’re doing to the environment.”

The broad-scale indiscriminate use of 1080 by the Animal Health Board (AHB) and the Department of Conservation (DOC) continues to have a devastating effect on the environment: decimating native birdlife; unbalancing ecosystems; and polluting soil and water. It also raises significant and justifiable human health concerns. KAKA will continue to work toward genuinely clean, green, 100% pure solutions to the problems of possum control and bovine Tb eradication so that New Zealanders can promote their country and their primary products to the world with confidence and pride.

DOC and the AHB have been indiscriminately aerially dropping 1080 poison on the West Coast and many other regions in New Zealand to kill possums– a strategy strongly opposed by local communities, tourism operators and the many international eco-tourism visitors to the country.

Despite agreeing to withdraw its “1080% Pure. Yeah Right!” and “Clean Green New Zealand Yeah Right!” campaign, KAKA will continue to draw public attention to the ongoing, expanding and increasingly detrimental effect of the indiscriminate use of 1080 by the AHB and DOC on the promotion of New Zealand as a 100%Pure/Clean/Green country.

“We believe strongly that this practice seriously undermines campaigns by TNZ to promote New Zealand as a preferred international tourist destination and campaigns by other marketing bodies to promote New Zealand’s primary products on the international market.”

Many KAKA members are tourism business operators who are extremely concerned about the ongoing, broad-scale indiscriminate use of 1080 by DOC and the AHB and the negative impact this is having on New Zealand’s environment, our respective businesses, the tourism industry and TNZ’s “Clean Green/100%Pure New Zealand” brands.

ENDS

Letter to KAKA from TNZ Lawyer (PDF)

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