Repellent Use Welcomed

"The New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association (NZDA) applauds the actions of the Minister of Conservation, Chris Carter's announcement today allowing the use of deer repellent on 1080 baits when aerially distributed over any of the eight gazetted Recreational Hunting Areas (RHAs) located around New Zealand and administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC)", said Trevor Dyke, National President.

Dyke continued by saying, "It has been a long held conviction of NZDA that protection of the deer populations in these Recreational Hunting Areas. The RHAs were specifically set aside for hunting, and the use of the repellent will mean that the by-kill of deer should be kept to a minimum. Not only that it will continue to provide food-safe meat on the table for many hunters and their families." Dyke further added, "To date, DoC has vigorously opposed, with the exception of some experimentation, any course of action aimed at such protection."

"It is pleasing to see," Dyke said, "that the wishes of hunters, to have a pest control process which has had one non-target species, deer, recognised as a valued resource, and as such, offered this protection by the Minister."

Dyke concluded by indicating, "NZDA still opposes the indiscriminate nature of the aerial distribution process of 1080, as the use of repellent is not claimed to offer protection to animals other than deer, including pigs, birds and their food chain via water ways.

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