She said she believed it was because most farmers were against 1080, but due to pressure from local dairy companies, the Animal Health Board (AHB) and others within the farming industry, many were scared to publicly speak out against it.

FATE, which was formed by a group making submissions against the West Coast Regional Council against 1080 drops, aims to work with and refocus the AHB’s actions towards other strategies for TB control. FATE believes that 1080 is a greater threat to our export industry than bovine TB.

“We have growing New Zealand-wide support. And remember very few farmers allow 1080 to be dropped on their land – farmers know it can kill everything,” Mrs Molloy said.

“Let’s refocus back to the original reason the AHB was formed – to help farmers rid their herd of TB – not to rid the whole of New Zealand of every possible vector for bovine TB.”

Mrs Molloy said people needed to know that poison was not acceptable in New Zealand. She believed 1080 was not only ineffective, it was also dangerous to both human and animal health, and had the potential to cause catastrophic trade problems if it was to get into the food chain.

“There is no trade barrier against TB, there are countries with less, like Australia and US, however our markets would be closed if 1080 does get into the food chain,” she said.

“It doesn’t go into the bush and only kill possums and stoats. 1080 is such a far reaching poison. There is nothing it cannot kill.”

In fact she couldn’t believe there hadn’t already been a major disaster involving 1080 - a chemical the United States saw as a potential terrorist tool.

She said the Animal Health Board needed to look at different strategies for dealing TB.

“We believe that farmers can help themselves more and that persistently infected farms should be assisted to become clear – maybe some new techniques or review older techniques like not grazing in high-risk areas,” Mrs Molloy said.

For more information about FATE, email Mrs Molloy at chaos1@xtra.co.nz