Friday, March 29, 2024

Ospri admits fault

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Northern Hawke’s Bay farmers are frustrated other landowners in the area are not doing enough to control possums, leaving them exposed to a bovine tuberculosis outbreak, which Ospri admits it took its eye off. Farmers at a meeting organised by Ospri at Putorino said those landowners, including some forestry companies and iwi, are not being held to the same poisoning standards as they are.
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They called on Ospri to stand up to those not pulling their weight and, if need be, take legal action to force them to do more to control possum numbers.

Tutira farmer Neil Aitken is waiting on TB test results from a cow killed recently and he expects to be told the animal was infected.

He is convinced the infection was from possums that got onto his property from the neighbouring Mohaka forest, where, he says, not enough is being done to control the pests.

Ospri needs to do everything in its power to force all landowners to act and if that means taking legal action then so be it.

“We need to get in and do everything we can to get down to really low (possum) levels across the whole area.

“Ospri has to put its money where its mouth is.

“Everyone should be treated the same.”

Ospri chief executive Steve Stuart said discussions about possum control are being held with various landowners.

But legal action is a last resort. It is better to try to work with landowners constructively.

“The stick is there if we need it but sometimes that approach can be negative,” he said.

Farmers want forestry companies to poison areas six months before felling so possums are killed before they can move to neighboring farms in search of new habitat.

Aitken said as soon as pine trees are cut down possum numbers in surrounding areas go up so everywhere that trees are being felled needs to be hit hard with poison beforehand.

NZ Forest Owners Association spokesman Don Carson said some foresters do possum control because possums eat indigenous riparian plantings used in forests.

Ospri runs possum control operations in commercial forests but foresters are not levied to pay for them.

Regional councils do some possum control and as ratepayers, forestry companies contribute to those.

Farmers who want neighbouring forest owners to poison before felling should contact the company concerned to see if an arrangement can be reached.

Ngati Pahauwera Development Trust, which owns the land the Mohaka forest is on, opposes aerial application of 1080.

Chief executive Robin Hape said other landowners are free to poison and possum control as they see fit but the trust has opted for ground trapping. 

It has a mix of ground traps and Goodnature traps, which automatically reset themselves up to 12 times, killing up to 12 possums before needing to be reset. Goodnature traps are used in areas that pose a health and safety risk for staff.

Hape said the trust meets its Ospri obligations.

The recently expanded Hawke’s Bay movement control area, which covers 572 herds came into effect on March 1.

Stuart said test results received after Christmas, tied to a TB outbreak in the Waitara Valley last year, mean more herds are under suspicion than originally estimated, which is why the movement control zone was expanded.

It looks like not enough was done to defend the buffer zone around Waitara.

“We appear to have let you down defending the buffer zone and we are determined to get this fixed as soon as possible,” he told the meeting.

There had been a belief northern Hawke’s Bay was protected so money was allocated to other areas where there was a perceived greater risk.

Ospri plans to work more closely with regional councils and forestry companies to access early warning information about possum numbers.

Acknowledging earlier shortcomings over Ospri’s communication with farmers Stuart committed to holding another meeting at Putorino in two months to report progress.

Stock movement controls will not be kept on any longer than is necessary.

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