At the sector’s annual conference farmers heard from Otago University Professor John Knight and his drive for gene eradication of pest mammals.
“We know this country is overtaken with mammal pests.
“It’s a devastating problem but no-one is falling over themselves yet to fund it,” Knight said.
“The stoat is public enemy number one. We have 1080 but no other practical solutions at this time but is this going to be the case forever?
“Will we be doing this (1080) in 50 years time? We have already seen a major problem with that in the Fonterra blackmailer.”
Knight believed he had the permanent solution and had high hopes for his new scientific pest proposal.
The key was gene driven.
“The way it works is through the gene driver. We all know the female has XX and the male has XY so cut the Y chromosome and all reproduction equals male,” he said.
“It may seem like science-fiction but it’s not. It’s entirely feasible we just need to do more work.”
A lot of money and research had been spent on killing off pests with chemicals but that was a short-term fix.
“It cannot solve the problem long-term.”
The potential for the revolutionary approach to controlling small mammal pests was immense, he said.
“We can’t remain reliant on toxins and traps. Large-scale poisoning is not an option if there is a technological potential,” Knight said.
He acknowledged resistance to his research on genetically modified organisms but said what was happening globally should be of interest to New Zealand.
“The problem lies clearly with the biology of genetic engineering and quite frankly it’s time NZ got over it,” he said.
“Campaigning against GM foods is morally unacceptable – it’s scaremongering.
“Fears about GE damaging the country are a myth. It should be used in NZ for important problems and mammalian pests are in desperate need for state-of-the-art technology.
“We have got to move beyond what we already know and the gene driver provides the best hope of achieving that,” Knight said.
“When solving problems we have to dig at the roots instead of hacking at the leaves.”
Just $1 million a year for three years was the funding needed to progress the research.
Knight suggested it might need private funding.
“There is political fear that the backwash of GE is sinful and I do worry about the backlash of GE getting in the way.
“A huge amount of money has gone down the gurgler trying to do projects on vector management in the past so we don’t want to continue down that track.
“There is a scientific and practical way forward – with funding,” Knight said.
While the high country farmers supported Knight’s project, the sector believed promotion would have greater impact if it was supported by Federated Farmers as a national body.
“This could be a major transformation and while high country farmers moved to support the project it was thought farmer lobbying would have greater clout if it was through the national organisation so we will be putting a case in that direction,” high country policy adviser Bob Douglas said.
He acknowledged there was a “bit of a job to do” in respect of the GE component.
“But we think it has major benefits and a more-consistent voice would come from the national organisation’s 16,000 members than the high country’s 400 members, especially managing the way through public perception,” Douglas said.
