New Zealand gets ‘terrorist’ poison threat

Wellington

New Zealand has received an “eco-terrorist” threat to poison baby formula, Prime Minister John Key said yesterday, in a scare that risks further denting the country’s “clean, green” reputation.

Police said they were taking the issue seriously after small packages of baby formula containing poison were sent with anonymous letters to the National Farmers Federation and dairy giant Fonterra.

“Whilst there is a possibility that this threat is a hoax, we must treat the threat seriously and a priority investigation is under way,” deputy commissioner Mike Clement said.

Authorities warned parents to examine packaging for signs of tampering and supermarkets removed formula cans from shelves to storerooms so shoppers could not access them directly.

Police said the motive behind what they termed a blackmail attempt was the use of a poison called 1080 for pest control, which some critics say kills wildlife.

The threat, originally made in November, was to contaminate products unless 1080 was banned by the end of this month.

Asked to characterise the threat, Key replied: “It’s a form of eco-terrorism without doubt.

“The person’s motive is to try and bully the government into not using 1080 ( but) the reality of anyone carrying out this threat is extremely low,” he added.

Even if it was a hoax, the scare comes at a sensitive time for New Zealand’s dairy industry, which is recovering from a botulism scare last year involving Fonterra.

It was eventually declared a false alarm, but not before potentially toxic formula was yanked off shelves from China to Saudi Arabia. – AFP