Envirologue by Dave Hansford

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Envirologue: 1080, "eco-terrorism" and agendas

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  • Alfie,

    The man behind the 1080 threat has finally been named as Jeremy Hamish Kerr. He earned royalties from a product called Feratox, an encapsulated form of cyanide. Kerr has pleaded guilty to all charges but denies his actions were financially motivated, as alleged by the crown.

    Crown prosecutor Christine Gordon, QC, explained that the defendant earned royalties from a product called Feratox – an alternative to 1080.

    But she said sales of the product were on the decline and the money earned by Kerr was not enough to live on.

    At the time the threats were sent, his credit card was almost maxed out and he could not make the minimum repayments, Ms Gordon said.

    It looks like Kerr resigned a number of directorships last year.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • izogi,

    I think the next interesting thing to find out will be how he obtained he 1080 samples he used, and what sort of auditing for access was in place.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • izogi,

    Stuff is reporting that from his police interview, he was making about $100k/year on royalties for Feratox since 1993, but it'd tailed off lots more recently, and no longer supported his lifestyle.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • John Farrell,

    It must be reassuring for the right, to know that the threat was just capitalism in action.

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 499 posts Report Reply

  • izogi,

    Is it possible to have a discussion around here without inevitably being dragged back to labels of 'left' and 'right'?

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie,

    While the timeline is unclear, Kerr apparently changed his mind and sent a retraction letter to Police saying he’d destroyed the 1080. However this time he left a sample of his DNA on the letter, which led to his eventual downfall.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    Kerr doesn't exactly sound like a criminal mastermind. Good police work to nab him, all the same.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie, in reply to Carol Stewart,

    Indeed. The Herald report states that the DNA sample was "260 times more likely to belong to Kerr than any other random male". In forensic terms that's actually a very low match, but it was enough to convince Kerr that the Police had him dead to rights.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie,

    The 1080 case has progressed to a pre-sentence disputed facts hearing in the Auckland High Court to determine whether the offending was financially motivated.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • izogi,

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie, in reply to izogi,

    8.5 years prison.

    Which seems light, given the gravity of the offence and the estimated $37m cost to the country. It makes you wonder what you'd have to do to receive the maximum 14 years the offence carries?

    Phil Taylor has an in-depth review of the case in the Herald.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Actually harming people physically, probably.

    I don’t know what good filling the jails does. Maybe there should be some sort of sentence of perpetual bankruptcy for greed based cases like this.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    If it affects farming then surely it is Terraism?…
    /coat

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • John Farrell,

    "sentence of perpetual bankruptcy for greed based cases"

    Put in rental accommodation, and paid NZ Superannuation, after you've confiscated their savings.

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 499 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes, in reply to John Farrell,

    Put in rental accommodation, and paid NZ Superannuation, after you’ve confiscated their savings.

    Don’t be stupid…
    Its not like he's Maori or anything…..
    /sarc

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • izogi, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    Actually harming people physically, probably.

    As I read the Blackmail description in the Crimes Act (237, 238), it doesn't seem to cover the act of actually carrying out the threat. Blackmail in NZ seems to be specifically about making the threat in order to obtain an act or a benefit from another person.

    But as far as I understand, there's no evidence that he had any intention to actually go through with the threat and kill babies. Is Blackmail where a person genuinely intended to carry out the threat worse than Blackmail where the person never intended to? That Stuff article isn't clear about what the mitigating factors were, but I wonder if it had something to do with it.

    I'll happily give way to a real lawyer on this.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Or you could read the judge's full sentencing report (available here, R v Kerr).

    It amazes me that people feel themselves able to decide on matters of guilt and sentencing on the basis of a few hundred words of (often biased and sensationalised) summary in a newspaper when the actual case will typically have involved weeks of proceedings and hundreds of pages of evidence.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • izogi, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    Thanks for that!

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie,

    A former business partner who invented the possum belts talks about Kerr cheating him and stealing his ideas.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie,

    This morning Jeremy Kerr has pleaded guilty to five additional charges which had been suppressed during his blackmail trial. Four counts of possessing BZP for the purpose of supply and one of selling the drug.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie,

    The Herald has more details which suggest Kerr was running a serious operation -- they found 32,000 BZP tabs and five pill-press machines.

    They've also revealed that he was busted back in 2004 for operating a hydroponic setup with 450 plants.

    The plants were inside shipping containers equipped with extraction fans, ultra-violet lighting and watering systems.

    UV lights? I'll bet the plants were nicely tanned.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie,

    Kerr has been sentenced to an additional 15 months for possessing and selling party pills.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Hood,

    Wow that blog is straight out of Protecting Parasites, the non-scientific book! Yes it's from March last year. And unhappily for all those who wrote at length about how awful those opposed to this 1080 poison are and how violent, partially illiterate and downright nasty they must be to to threaten babies... it was one of those involved in the NZ poison pest control industry as most of population who are opposed to 1080 thought it must logically be given the lack of compassion it must have taken. And a well known scientist who opposes the poison gave the police their lead.

    Here is a post from one of the facebook communities from around this time:

    The man who threatened the nation's babies with a deadly poison has now had name supression lifted. His excuse? Only that his pest control poison Feratox wasn't selling well enough and he'd maxed out on his credit card. He claims he didn't have enough to live on.... so why didn't he just sell off some of his large portfolio of real estate around the country instead of committing an act of what some called blackmail but the Prime Minister called eco-terrorism; hinting at misguided anti-1080 activism as the cause. No, John, it was just business as usual for the poisoners who all want the biggest share of the poisoning wildlife 'pie' - but the government's got that all sewn up with 1080, haven't they. What a sick industry in a country marketed as 'Pure'! It's enough to make anyone angry at the government. We're talkng here about our safety against a substance that is labelled as a chemical of mass destruction! And a member of NZ's pest control industry is angling for greater market share using threats against babies? What kind of industry are we nurturing? Aren't we better than this? Killing for conservation? Is that what we are sanctioning as a country? It's time to change more than our flag.

    New Zealand • Since Nov 2016 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    Sigh. It's hard to know where to start with such an ill-informed rant. Go away and read Dave Hansford's excellent book then come back for a more informed discussion.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie, in reply to Michael Hood,

    Wow that blog is straight out of Protecting Parasites, the non-scientific book!

    Pardon Michael? Which blog? Do you have any particular point to make?

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

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