Best of 2019: Protesters to gather in opposition to 1080 pest eradication outside Whanganui plant

Protesters outside the Orillion factory in Heads Rd Whanganui during a protest held last year.

This summer the Chronicle is bringing you another look at some of the best content of 2019. This story originally ran on 30 April 2019

Up to 800 protesters from around the North Island are expected to gather in Whanganui to oppose the Department of Conservation's use of 1080 poison.

The protest on Wednesday, May 1, will commence at the Orillion factory in Heads Rd, where 1080 is manufactured.

Protest coordinator Tim Bensemen of NZ Farmers Against 1080 Poison said there are two main messages to the protest.

"One is to dispel the myth that 1080 is a humane method of pest eradication - it's not.

"The other is that companies with vested interests are funding its use."

Around 30 registered pest control products are manufactured at Orillion, where some staff received death threats from 1080 opponents last year.

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When they drop it, it gets into the waterways and is a threat to humans and other animals.

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Whanganui protester Phillip "Bear" Reweti said he does not support such action and says the planned protest will be a peaceful, family-friendly action.

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Protesters outside the Orillion factory in Heads Rd Whanganui during a protest held last year.

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"I'm opposed to the dropping of 1080 from helicopters.

"I know it is effective when the baits are laid by hand, and the government could employ more people to do that.

"When they drop it, it gets into the waterways and is a threat to humans and other animals."

However, the Conservation Department (DoC) — and its mandated iwi partner Te Rōpū Mana Whenua (TRMW) — support its use, saying aerial drops of 1080 are the most effective tool available to kill possums, rats and other pests that threaten native species.

1080 is the brand name for the synthetic form of sodium fluoroacetate, which has been used in pest eradication since the 1950s.

It is imported into New Zealand in its raw form from the United States and processed by the Orillion plant, which belongs to State-owned enterprise Animal Control Products (ACP).

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Protesters outside the Orillion factory in Heads Rd Whanganui during a protest held last year.

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Staff at Orillion in Whanganui have said rumours that they will be closed on Wednesday are not true and they will be open.

"I've had quite a friendly chat with the manager," Reweti said.

"He said there won't be any trucks going in and out while we are there."

The protesters plan to be outside Orillion from 8am until 3pm before marching to Taupō Quay, where they plan to stand outside the DOC premises for an hour.