Photo: Peter Brown/CSIRO
THE Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has today approved Grain Producers Australia’s application for ZP50 mouse bait.
On behalf of farmers across Australia, GPA on April 25 applied to the APVMA for a permit to use ZP50, or grain baited with 50g/kg of zinc phosphide, double the rate permitted previously.
ZP50 was last approved for use in the Australian grainbelt in May 2021, when New South Wales bore the brunt of a booming mouse population, and an extended emergency-use permit made its use legal up to December 2023.
“While grain growers have had ongoing access to 25g/kg zinc phosphide (ZP25) mouse bait, it’s not strong enough to tackle the level of mice issues that we’re seeing at the moment, so we are incredibly grateful for this permit,” Victorian grower and GPA research, development and extension spokesperson Andrew Weidemann said.
“Mouse plagues can obviously cause massive crop and financial losses in the absence of adequate management tools, as well as significant psychological stress for farmers, their families and those living in affected areas.
“This is a time-sensitive issue and GPA have been dedicated to working with the APVMA to establish practical permit conditions that balance access to stronger pesticides with safety, environmental and trade considerations.”
Permit terms allow for a flexible approach to ZP50 access based on moderate or high levels of mouse activity identified through a national rapid assessment monitoring network
This acknowledges the unpredictable and fast-moving nature of mouse populations, and allows for potential future needs of grain growers across the country without requiring a new emergency permit application.
Growers will need to comply with conditions associated with this emergency permit, which include completing a short online training course, and reporting baiting details to meet APVMA compliance requirements.
The training course will be available from 5pm AEST today.
APVMA chief executive officer Scott Hansen said the authority’s decision was based on a careful and evidence-based assessment to protect farmers, the community and the environment, as required under the law.
“The APVMA prioritises emergency permits to support farmers and communities when they need us most,” Mr Hansen said.
“This prioritisation does not mean taking shortcuts in examination of the product and the way in which it is proposed to be used, including its potential impacts on human health, wildlife and the environment.”
The permit has been approved with specific-use instructions and controls designed to support effective mice management while reducing risks to people, wildlife and the environment.
These include clear permit directions on application to minimise exposure to non-target animals.
Grateful all round
The news of the ZP50 permit has been warmly welcomed by GRDC and involved state agriculture ministers.
“GRDC has been working hard behind the scenes with CSIRO and GPA to provide robust scientific data to underpin the emergency permit application for ZnP50,” GRDC managing director Nigel Hart said.
“This bait is a critical additional tool to help growers manage mouse numbers under these extreme conditions.
“GRDC along with GPA will continue to support growers as the permit comes into place and work with the sector to build a stronger database for future applications.”
SA Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development Clare Scriven said the SA Government has welcomed the APVMA’s decision.
“Our government has been working closely with farmers and industry groups to help them secure access to double-strength zinc phosphide bait, with plans in place to intervene and apply on behalf of industry if their final applications were rejected,” Ms Scriven said.
“It has been a monumental effort to get to this point, and Grain Producers Australia deserves significant credit for getting their application over the line.
Farms and towns in WA’s Mid West have been particularly hard hit by mice, and WA Minister for Agriculture and Food Jackie Jarvis has welcomed the APVMA decision, and pledged support from her government with regard to mice.
“I welcome the APVMA decision, which will assist farmers and communities enduring unprecedented mice conditions,” Ms Jarvis said.
“I have been advocating for this change for some time now and I’m pleased this decision will provide a way forward for landholders and communities to undertake effective mice control.
“The WA Government is also supporting affected communities with additional funding to Local Government for baits and clean up measures to help alleviate the cost and stress of dealing with this issue.”
On behalf of the Queensland Government, Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett has congratulated GPA and the APVMA for delivering much-needed national flexibility, certainty, and the capacity to respond quickly when plagues are next detected Queensland.
“I have supported ongoing calls by key stakeholders for this permit because mice plagues are devasting to crops and communities and while there a currently no outbreaks in Queensland, our thoughts are with landholders interstate,” Mr Perrett said.
Response to building pressure
In a May 7 statement, GPA said its application was submitted in response to escalating mouse activity across parts of WA and SA, and growing concern from grain producers about impacts on crop establishment and early season losses.
GPA said it had worked closely with APVMA, CSIRO, and the GRDC, as well as the WA and SA governments and manufacturers, ahead of and after lodging its application.
“We appreciate the way APVMA has engaged with GPA, GRDC and CSIRO throughout this process and the recognition of the seriousness of the mouse pressure being experienced in parts of Western Australia and South Australia,” Mr Weidemann said.
On Tuesday, GPA issued a statement saying a decision from the APVMA on ZP50 was imminent.
In it, Mr Weidemann said significant work had been undertaken across industry and government in recent weeks to progress the application and associated stewardship requirements.
“We’ve done a lot of work between the team at GRDC, APVMA, the CSIRO and ourselves in the background to have accelerated something that would normally have taken six or seven weeks to go through.
“We’re hopeful we’ll be back talking later this week about the emergency permit, but we still have to wait for that final regulatory decision.”
Source: GPA
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