GM animal plan challenged

A lobby group yesterday challenged a plan to develop and commercialise genetically modified animals.

In the High Court at Wellington, GE-Free New Zealand asked for the withdrawal of development applications by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) and the AgResearch crown research institute.

AgResearch has made four applications to develop, import and commercialise genetically modified animals from nine species, including sheep, cows, pigs and horses.

But GE-Free argued that Erma had wrongly allowed the applications to go ahead. It said insufficient information had been provided on the new organisms to be created or where they would be developed and tested.

Lawyer Tom Bennion, for GE-Free, said potential submitters on the applications needed adequate information to make meaningful submissions that could help Erma in its decision making.

It was also important for local iwi to know where a development or testing facility was located.

GE-Free said that all the applications failed to identify with any certainty the genetically engineered organism that was involved.

The development and field-test applications failed to specify any locations and the field-test applications failed to identify what was to be tested.

Mr Bennion said although many submissions had been received, "there is insufficient information to make sensible comments".

- NZPA