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Terminally-ill 1080 protestor arrives home

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Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:00a.m.

Chris Short

Chris Short

Terminally ill anti-1080 protester Chris Short arrived home tonight after a six-day vigil atop of Mt Tongariro in the central North Island.

His wife, Leanne, said her husband was "very tired" after his time on the mountain.

Mr Short had earlier said he was prepared to die on the mountain unless Clyde and Steve Graf's documentary on 1080, Poisoning Paradise, was broadcast on TV.

The man had driven himself back after walking down from the mountain, calling his wife from towns on his way back to Taupo.

"Like a friend told me, if he can walk six kilometres down a mountain, he will be able to drive home," Mrs Short said.

Mr Short decided yesterday to leave the mountain after a visit from a representative from the local Tuwharetoa tribe yesterday.

He had decided to end his stand out of respect for local Maori, he said.

"It's all happened so quick, I probably achieved my objective and now it's just important to not turn this magical place into a circus," he told 3News.

"It means a lot to the original people of this area.

"But I will vow to fight 1080 to the end, I just don't have to do it from up here."

Mr Short, 50, has a large tumour on a kidney and may only have weeks to live.

NZPA

 

 

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Comments

30 Aug 2009 05:45p.m.

Debbie Brock wrote:

I fully support Mr Shorts views on the use of 1080 in New Zealand, and good on him for having the gumption to make a stand strong enough to bring the issues to light. I have seen the documentary made by the Graf brothers, it was incredibly informative and clearly details the "Full Story" about the use of 1080, listing the concerns and showing the damage caused to the wildlife in our forests. The majority of the New Zealand public is, sadly, uninformed about the concerns regarding the use of 1080, such as the fact that it does NOT break down quickly as DOC will tell us, because in the New Zealand bush the temperatures do not get consistently high enough to facilitate the breaking down of the toxins. Therefore it remains in our waterways. I live in the Coromandel region, where 1080 is used extensively, and many people in this area source our water supply directly from the bush rivers and streams which originate in areas where 1080 is dropped.
I feel there is an obligation to screen the documentary, as requested by Mr short, so that the people of New Zealand may become fully informed and better able to make up their own minds about the use of 1080. I would like to know of any groups organizing either protests or meetings to help raise public awaeness about the toxic effects caused by 1080, and I most sincerely hope that TV3 will do their bit in regards to screening the DVD.