Poison drop upsets hunters

A large aerial 1080 poisoning mission in a recreational hunting area has angered the region's deerstalkers.

The Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Animal Health Board are dropping the poison to combat TB on conservation and private land in southern Wairarapa.

The area under contention is the 13,000ha Southern Haurangi block of the Aorangi Forest Park. It contains red deer and is recognised by a Recreational Hunting Area (RHA) designation, one of only seven in New Zealand.

The board is using 1080 with deer repellent throughout most of the park, but has upset the Wellington Deerstalkers' Association by refusing to use repellent in one of the favourite hunting spots, an area called the Stonewall Basin in the southern end of the park.

Acting Wellington conservator Jeff Flavell said that DoC had approved the use of repellent in an area of Aorangi Forest PArk in the Wairarapa, as in this case the use met all DoC criteria.*

However, Conservation Minister Chris Carter ruled the repellent could be used in the RHAs.

Animal Health Board communications manager Nick Hancox said the board had not applied for repellent in the Stonewall area because private landowners next to the basin had requested the non-deer repellent 1080 be used.

It was logistically difficult and expensive to change from one to the other within such close proximity, he said.

Wellington Deerstalkers' Association president Joe Hubmann said hunters were disappointed.

- NZPA

* CORRECTION: In the original version of this report we stated incorrectly that Jeff Flavel said the use of deer repellent conflicted with DoC's policy of pest control.