NSW Farmers Wagga branch president Alan Brown says the fight against the mouse plague will not be seriously affected by federal authorities blocking the 'napalm' of rodent poisons.
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Last month the NSW government applied for an emergency permit to use bromadiolone-based mouse bait around the perimeter of crops as part of its relief package for farmers.
Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall described bromadiolone as "the equivalent of napalming mice" but his plan prompted warnings that the poison would also harm native animals.
On Wednesday, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) issued a notice of intention to refuse.
Mr Brown said the decision was not unexpected, and cold and wet weather was helping reduce mouse numbers.
"I don't believe it will have a serious impact on mouse control because they have increased their concentration of zinc phosphide used on grain, which makes [poison bait] more potent, " he said.
"The use of bromadiolone was only ever going to be used on the perimeters [of crops] and given the stage we have got, it probably wouldn't have had a lot of effect anyway."
APVMA chief executive Lisa Croft said the authority was not satisfied that the application met the statutory criteria for environmental safety "particularly in relation to animals that eat mice".
"We have approved six other emergency permit applications to give farmers extra mice control options," she said.
Mr Marshall said he was disappointed in the refusal but he would respect the decision. "We haven't put all our eggs in one basket, nor have we sat on our hands while waiting for a determination," he said.
"The NSW government put $150 million on the table to give farmers rebates of 50 per cent on zinc phosphide, run extensive workshops with Australia's leading mice expert and invested in Australia-leading biocontrol research to help control the plagues of the future."
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