Doc’s numbers are not quite stacking up

THE ODT editorial (19.12.18) entitled ‘‘The appalling 1080 fanatics’’ pales into insignificance compared to what St John ambulance staff have to put up with over New Zealand.

Doc staff are complaining about verbal, physical, and threatening letters over their use of 1080 poison. About 100 threats to Doc staff have allegedly been made, according to Doc spin doctors, yet with only nine complaints made to police and only one actioned.

No mention is made of rough treatment handed out by police and security workers to genuine peaceful protesters such as on the West Coast at Paringa and at Whiting, the latter where three pensioners were manhandled and roughed up by security.

Doc is complaining it has taken $700,000 to protect its staff. But recent figures have shown St John personnel have had to put up with 1676 verbal threats and 721 instances of physical abuse.

These are genuine figures, which raises the question: how authentic are Doc’s figures?

Strangely not mentioned is that Doc is throwing a hazardous class A ‘‘ecosystem’’ toxin all over New Zealand — mostly public lands — killing everything that requires oxygen to survive.

So long as Doc and Ospri continue this barbaric practice of indiscriminately spreading this super toxin, there will be abuse.

I feel sorry for the staff who work for Doc who hate the practice and have to put up with the abuse. Lewis Hore

Oamaru