Pesticides affect more than what we think!

PRESS RELEASE

for immediate release

Pesticides affect more than what we think!

The Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust is appalled to learn that ERMA has given approval for the continued use of Endosulfan in New Zealand.

“Our endemic butterflies are making the threatened species list, and yet we know that pesticide use is partly to blame,” said Jacqui Knight of the MBNZT. “Endosulfan has proven to have a disastrous effect on insects.”

She said that according to reports, Endosulfan is highly ecotoxic.

“It is known to pollute air, rain, soil, groundwater, the marine environment, people and human food,” she said. “This is why most countries have banned its use – 55 countries in all – and while it has caused serious birth defects, mental retardation, reproductive dysfunction and a host of other chronic effects on mammals, imagine the consequences to our insect life!”

Confirmation that ERMA has approved its continued use hits particularly hard with MBNZT members. The June newsletter of the MBNZT contains a real-life horror story, where the butterflies were critically affected by plants which had been sprayed with a cocktail of pesticides; over 150 Monarch butterflies dead and dying, with ghastly symptoms.

“You can just imagine the effects of this and other pesticides on our beneficial insects, and the consequences of the wildlife that eat them further up the food chain.”

“People come to NZ because of its clean, green image; it’s hypocrisy!”

More information can be found on the website, www.monarch.org.nz.

ENDS

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