With the first poison now laid by Zero Invasive Predators (Zip), as part of the Predator Free South Westland initiative, commercial deer hunting cannot be done within 2km, for three years.
Whataroa farmer and concerned hunter Lucas Syminton said 30-50 attended a meeting in the town earlier this week to discuss the situation — with all opposed.
Mr Syminton said Zip was not willing to say exactly where the poison had been laid due to privacy concerns — but produced a map showing where it would lay it, covering the entire Whataroa valley and most of the Waiho as well.
"Consultation was not done to a satisfactory standard. People were unaware brodifacoum was being used."
Mr Syminton said the meeting heard that if an independent audit was done, Zip could get an exemption from the MPI to the "no commercial hunting" rule.
There were also concerns around a bait station breaking, releasing the poison.
Westland Milk Products did some testing for end-of-line products but had no protocols for exposed stock, Mr Syminton said.
"Right now there’s no protocol and there’s bait on farms. It should be in place."
MPI national food safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said under the Animal Products Act 1999, wild animals sourced from areas where brodifacoum had been applied could not enter the human or animal food chains for a three-year period.
The buffer zone depends on species — 200m for rabbits, 1km for hares/tahr/wallabies/possums, 2km for deer/chamois/goats/sheep/buffalo and 5km for pigs and other species.
"This requirement is in place to ensure food safety for consumers who purchase meat from hunted animals."
Zip had recently applied to the MPI for exemption from this requirement, Mr Arbuckle said, and this was yet to be assessed.
Fish and Game West Coast manager Dean Kelly said Zip confirmed that game birds were safe to harvest as the brodifacoum bait was used in bait stations.
Locals say the use of brodifacoum affects landowners and hunters’ ability to locally source game meat during a cost-of-living crisis.
Hari Hari farmer Mary Molloy said she would use cyanide and trapping on her own farm, but not brodifacoum.
Cyanide caused death immediately, but not brodifacoum.
Zip said it had been in discussion with the North Ōkārito and Whataroa communities in recent months and development director Tom Agnew said the support of the community was crucial.
"We’re thankful to have continuing support from the majority of local residents" he said.
"There is some genuine concern from a small group within the community about the use of brodifacoum in the project area.
"We’re continuing to explore ways to alleviate this group’s concerns as we work towards the predator-free goal."
Brodifacoum is being used to target rats and Mr Agnew said the toxin was deployed in small quantities, in specially designed bait stations that restricted other species.
Each station was fixed to prevent movement. On farmland and within the buffer zone, bait was fixed inside the station so it could not be removed.
It regularly consulted with the MPI and Westland Milk on its approach, and last month the MPI endorsed Zip’s farmland practices as among the most robust and safest in the New Zealand industry, Mr Agnew said. — Greymouth Star
