(Australia)Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease bait update

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

 

Here is the latest update on the RCD baits saga in Australia.

(Rabbit Calicivirus Disease was a

name invented by Australian authorities for the disease the rest of the

world

knows as Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus. Australian authorities are

considering spreading this virus on food baits that could be eaten by many

of Australia's unique animals species with dangerous consequences. The

object

of spreading the deadly virus on food baits is to kill wild introduced

European rabbits).

 

1. Environment Australia are considering whether to give their approval to

the RCD

baits (Environment Australia is the Commonwealth Department of Environment

in Australia).

 

Although it is late, if anyone wants to send in a submission opposing the

use of RCD baits in

Australia, fax Mr Chris Lee Steere, Chemical Evaluations Manager,

Environment Australia

Fax +61 2 625.00387 or email Chris.Lee-Steere

 

Please write submissions based on a scientific or environmental basis and

try to avoid

emotive submissions.

 

My submission is on line at http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/clsenv.htm

and there is much information for use in submissions at

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/rrcd.htm

 

 

2. Freedom of Information requests regarding the RCD bait details are

progressing well.

 

Our appeal to the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal is progressing

nicely.

The National Registration Authority previously denied access to much

information

concerning the RCD baits.

They have now given approval to release a large block of information

previously denied

to us under the FOI Act.

 

A big thankyou to the Environmental Defender's Office in Perth, Western

Australia

for providing a lawyer to help with the appeal to access RCD bait

information to which

we were previously denied access under the FOI Act by the NRA.

Here is the EDO home page for my state of Western Australia

http://www.edo.org.au/edowa/EDOWA.htm

 

Thankyou to everyone who has sent in submissions to the NRA opposing RCD

baits and

to those who have also sent in submissions to Environment Australia.

 

If anyone has not sent in a submission to the NRA yet (the National

Registration Authority

in Australia have to give the final approval to legalise the spread of

Rabbit Hemorrhagic

Disease on Food Baits) , please consider sending a submission is as soon as

possible

or cut and paste the ready made RCD submission/protest letter at

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/protester.htm

 

Let us all pray that common sense will prevail and the Australian

authorities will disallow

the use of RCD baits in Australia. RCD/RHD is a horrific and dangerous

disease for

any country in the world to consider spreading. The disease is already

spread in Australia

by the more species specific method of capturing wild rabbits, injecting

them with RHD virus

and letting them go to infect other rabbits (of course other animals eat the

diseased rabbits

and antibodies to RHD have been found in other species. Antibodies are often

produced to

fight infection).

 

Kind regards,

 

Marguerite Wegner

(Rabbit Information Service,

Western Australia)

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm