A public meeting to discuss the possible implications of the Fire Ant Eradication Program being implemented in the Byron Shire will be held at the Mullumbimby Ex-Services Club on Sunday, March 30, from 6pm.
Co-organiser, councillor David Warth, told The Echo that impacted residents from SE Qld and Murwillumbah will provide their experiences, and councillors from Byron and Tweed shires are invited.
‘The discussion will aim to create protocols that will avoid the broad scale use of poisons in our environment’, he says. ‘According to the information released by the eradication program, the consequences of not dealing with this threat are catastrophic, involving billions of dollars of damage across many environments and industries’.
He says the eradication procedures includes poison bait distribution by aircraft, helicopters, drones and also teams of operators treating properties on the ground.
Endocrine disruptors
He says the poisons used in the program – pyriproxyfen and S-methoprene – are endocrine disruptors which impact insect growth hormones.
‘These poisons are not able to specifically target fire ants, and as such, will poison all insects that take the bait.
‘Going up the food chain the effects are both immediate and cumulative, and are cause for concern. We are told that these chemicals are safe and effective, and that the Australian TGA has cleared them for use.’ Cr Warth added that despite the assurance that native ant species find it easier to recolonise after fire ants are eradicated, this is contrary to findings from overseas.
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