Bush reality

John Veysey (Letters, August 14) strongly hinted at the futility and waste of the Government’s predator-free plan.

Predators are a reality in biosystems.

After all, native falcons prey on birds such as tui. Weka, kea and pukeko prey on young birds. Stoats eat rats and mice. Cats cop blame, but cats eat mice and rats.

The main tool for government ministers such as Nick Smith and Maggie Barry is poisons, e.g. 1080. But Landcare Research shows that when toxins cause mass predator reductions, survivors of fastbreeding species such as rats explode back to four times original numbers within four years, causing an explosion in stoat numbers in turn. Lloyd Hanson, Marlborough