By LISA RANGI
Kaiata deer farmer Wayne Fairhall has lost two-thirds of his herd to a slow and agonising death after deadly 1080 pellets were dropped over his property.  Before the Animal Health Board drop last Friday — allegedly including a night time drop — he had 16 deer grazing his farm block at the back of Kaiata. By yesterday, 10 of his animals were dead after grazing on the poisoned pellets and most of the others were holed up in a clump of bush on the farm, their fate unknown. The carcases were bloated and some had foamed at the mouth and coughed up blood before dying. Hawks were picking the eyes out of the carcases, raising fears for the future of a family of hawks until now seen daily on the farm.

On Monday the deer were running around fine but Mr Fairhall returned home from work on Tuesday to be greeted with the sight of a dead deer in the gateway. “I got worried and started walking through the paddock and found more deer. I went round and there was 1080 everywhere.” His partner Anthea found a deer in its death throes while feeding out on Wednesday.  “She just sat with it, crying, while it called out. No one should have to witness that. “It’s a prolonged and awful experience to see,” Mr Fairhall said.  Even on Wednesday, two or three green-coloured 1080 pellets could be found at each step; the pellets were meant to be confined to the native bush and hills behind the farm.

Yesterday, Vector Control Services — owned by the West Coast Regional Council — disputed Mr Fairhall’s claim that the pellet drop had missed the zone, saying they had written permission to drop 1080 in the paddock and that stock food had been given to make up for the loss of grazing. However, Mr Fairhall said that permission had been to drop 1080 only in the bush on their property at the back of the farm, and claimed the deer paddocks were meant to be off limits. “It was my father’s and my understanding that the paddocks were excluded.”  Pellets observed at the start of a full circuit of the farm on Wednesday had disappeared within 30 minutes, eaten either by birds or deer. The poisoned paddock has been shut off to the remaining herd, but it may be too late. The farm also has a number of domestic rabbits, horses, cows, ducks, and a huge array of native birds including yellowheads and waxeyes. “It is a huge disappointment that we are losing the native birds, and now our herd,” Mr Fairhall said. “I’m not happy to accept this at all. I’m not happy with how this has been handled. It’s a severe case of mis-communication.”

Vector Control Services manager Randal Beal said he was satisfied no flight “oversights” had occurred. Before last week’s aerial drop Mr Fairhall was in two minds about 1080, but now he was angrily opposed to aerial dispersal, which he said was too indiscriminate, killing everything. “They never gave me much time to get my herd in. It was done late at night and obviously GPS did not help. The information about the drop was lacking.”

Mr Fairhall intends to claim for compensation but said that would not make up for the suffering of his animals. The aerial operation began on Friday morning and he said it apparently continued into the night; he noticed the lights of the Iroquois helicopter as it circled above his property about 9.30pm. “I saw it over the paddock and thought it was turning round, but I didn’t expect them to be dropping it in my paddock as we had been informed about the drop and where it would be.” Mr Beal said their aerial drops did not continue past dusk. “There are two options: the bait was shifted or Wayne and his father mis-communicated. “If it’s our mistake, but I don’t believe it is, we will look after them — it’s a sensitive issue at the moment.”

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