A thought-provoking documentary about the controversial pesticide 1080 and its impact on New Zealand’s environment – A SHADOW OF DOUBT – will screen in Māori Television’s Saturday Feature slot on Saturday July 14 at 9.30 PM.
The feature-length film has been made by Waikato brothers Clyde and Steve Graf to demonstrate the “in the field” dangers of 1080 and includes graphic footage of dead wildlife as well as powerful testimonials from farmers, hunters, scientists, university lecturers and Māori tribal elders.
The Environmental Risk Management Agency (ERMA) recently completed several weeks of hearings on the 1080 reassessment application from the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Animal Health Board (AHB) and is expected to announce a decision about its future use this month (July).
The Graf brothers are keen outdoorsmen and shot the documentary over a five-month period in Te Urewera National Park as part of a non-profit project to highlight their environmental concerns.
Clyde Graf says the screening of A SHADOW OF DOUBT on Māori Television is timely given the upcoming ERMA decision.“We are at a crossroads here. If ERMA approves the continued aerial blanket dumping of 1080, there is little doubt that the intensity will increase. If we find that in 20 years our wildlife’s ability to reproduce has been compromised, due to genetic interference, we don’t know that it can’t be tracked back to1080, and that’s what people are concerned about as well.
“Through the documentary, we now have a visual account of what’s happening out there, that projects horrendous injustices to animals, indiscriminate assaults to our forests, and is telling the truth. As far as my brother and I are concerned, the bigger the noise we can all make about this, the better off we’ll all be as a result.
“The scientific and medical evidence now coming to light proving that 1080 has no positive outcome for New Zealand’s flora and fauna can no longer be ignored. In my opinion, the public have been misrepresented for too long in regard to the information they have been fed about 1080. Irreversible damage has probably already been done and surely we must now err on the side caution.”
A SHADOW OF DOUBT screens in Māori Television’s Saturday Feature slot on Saturday July 14 at 9.30 PM.
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