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Possums

Wayne Fraser [Viewpoint, August 1992] comments on the development of the National Science Strategy on possum control and the elimination of bovine tuberculosis. He asks a number of questions which I will address. Does the NSS Committee really envisage that it can eradicate all those species within the 16-year timeframe it has set?

It is not the intention to eradicate feral animals, as it recognises that is a goal unlikely to be achievable. It does have the goal of eradicating feral animals which are infected with Tb and thus provide a reservoir of Tb for ongoing infection of healthy farmed and other feral animals. Does the NSS strategy represent the most effective use of money?

The total expenditure on research on possum control and Tb is in excess of $4 million. The expenditure on control using existing methods is much greater, and new methods both to reduce the problem in the short term and in the long term need to be developed. It is intended that the National Science Strategy Committee and its activities become self-funding. No funds from the Public Good Science Fund are involved. Have all the related issues that impinge on the NSS been fully considered?

I agree that the strategies should be compatible with "good pest management -- realistic, achievable and measurable goals". The NSS Committee is interested in considering novel methods of control. Consideration has been given to the suggestion by Mr Fraser of a "buffer" zone on farmland running cattle rather than in the bush.

The NSS Committee has a serious mission and seeks from all interested parties and individuals constructive comments and suggestions. It is pragmatic and, like Mr Fraser, wants to ensure that research dollars, whether they be from the Public Good Science Fund or from industry, are spent wisely and result in an acceptable level of pest control and in eradication of Tb as a national animal health problem.

D. E. Wright, Office of the Chief Scientist, MORST