1080: Age of Consent?
KAKA Press Release: June 17, 2008
1080: Age of
Consent?
It has come to the attention of 1080
action group Karameans Advocating Kahurangi Action (KAKA)
that the Animal Health Board and pest-control contractor
EPRO have been sneakily organising new consents through the
West Coast Regional Council to substantially expand the area
of a scheduled 1080 drop in Karamea on the northern West
Coast from 30,631 hectares to 52,196 hectares without
public consultation.
The consent applications
have not been publicly notified and while this behaviour may
be legal, is it ethical? The use of 1080 on the West Coast
is an extremely contentious issue and many Coasters have
serious and justifiable concerns about their personal safety
and the environmental impact of the process. Accordingly,
West Coast residents should be clearly informed of any
changes to the 1080 programme and this has not been the
case.
For the AHB, EPRO and the WCRC to then
covertly change the conditions of the consent and expand the
scope of the programme without alerting the residents that
may be affected must surely bring into question the ethics
of the procedure in which such bodies are bound and the
level of trust the public can afford them.
In
addition, the use of carrot baits has been introduced into
the programme, whereas in the initial (publicly informed
consent) only cereal baits were to be used. Carrot baits are
particularly attractive to deer, could it be that the
Department of Conservation is pulling the strings to have
the programme expanded?
KAKA will continue to work
for the people of the West Coast to closely watch the
activities of the aforementioned government agencies and
poison contractor to reveal the truth and provide
information to the public that should reasonably be
available.
ends