Threatened Legal Action

A Tuatapere landowner has threatened legal action if the Department of Conservation flies over his property to drop 1080.

Graeme Muldrew told an Environment Southland resource consent hearing yesterday he was staunchly opposed to the aerial drop.

In a written submission, Mr Muldrew says: "I will consider legal action if my section is affected by this action and in particular my health and children."

Mr Muldrew yesterday said he planned to issue a trespass notice to DOC if it was successful with its application and if his section was in their "flight plan".

The move was backed by the property's co-owner Stephen Gamble, he said.

Mr Muldrew said while unsure if his property would be in the flight-planned route, his land was still likely to be affected regardless of where the poison was dropped.

A DVD titled Poisoning Paradise, which he played as part of his submission, showed the effect of 1080 on animals. It also showed the impact the poison had on plant and water life, Mr Muldrew said.

DOC has applied for resource consent to drop cereal bait over 25,000ha of Fiordland's Waitutu Forest.The application has drawn widespread disapproval, with 50 of 58 submissions on the application opposing the move. Four submissions supported the move and four were neutral.

The consent hearing began on Monday and finished yesterday, with committee members to meet next week to deliberate. A decision is expected early next year.

During his oral submission Mr Muldrew called on DOC to consider using ground control rather than an aerial drop.

He was one of six submittors opposing DOC's plan at the hearing yesterday.

Other submittors told the council the aerial drop would result in the unnecessary slaughter of non-target species, cause loss to commercial and recreational users, and have a long-term impact on the area's coastal and marine environments.

On Monday, DOC representative Dave Carlton told the consents committee the benefits of possum control using the poison outweighed the costs and risks if proper controls were in place.

Southland Times. 2/12/09