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Moth Spray Intrusion
Saturday morning, employees of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office stormed onto my property uninvited, with their trucks and equipment, and with California Highway Patrol officers in tow.
Letter to the Editor Ventura County Star
I’m one of the property owners whose home is in the approximately 267-acre quarantine zone at risk of infestation by the gypsy moth.
They presented an inspection/abatement warrant and promptly declared that they would begin immediately applying the pesticide Btk on my trees with or without my consent.
Despite a campaign to convince me of the safety of the Btk pesticide, I decided it was in the best interests of my family, animals and me to avoid having Btk sprayed in my yard. I am not alone in having made this choice. Twice, I called and politely denied permission to spray in my yard. I thought the matter was settled.
It came as a great surprise then that they acquired a warrant and showed up at my house without forewarning. I had no recourse nor any time to prepare. It was humiliating to have people I didn’t know entering my property and spraying my trees without my permission. With the CHP present, it felt like a law-enforcement operation.
The CDFA and county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office should be ashamed of themselves for their arrogant dismissal of property owners’ wishes, and also for the deceptive manner in which they acquired a warrant and came onto our properties without warning. There was not so much as a phone call, letter or notice. There was no attempt on their part to be respectful or diplomatic.
Ironically, they slipped an “Advanced Notification of Foliar Treatment” under my doormat before they left — after applying the treatment.
If they had intended to spray one way or the other, then why did they give us the impression we had a choice in the matter? Why hold any community meetings to discuss it?
I understand the need to protect our trees and agricultural resources from pests such as the gypsy moth.
However, the issue for me is bigger than the gypsy moth or the toxicity of Btk. It is the issue of individual liberty and property owners’ rights. I hope that the CDFA and county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office will be held to account.
— Derek Rodrigues lives in Ojai.
I’m one of the property owners whose home is in the approximately 267-acre quarantine zone at risk of infestation by the gypsy moth.
They presented an inspection/abatement warrant and promptly declared that they would begin immediately applying the pesticide Btk on my trees with or without my consent.
Despite a campaign to convince me of the safety of the Btk pesticide, I decided it was in the best interests of my family, animals and me to avoid having Btk sprayed in my yard. I am not alone in having made this choice. Twice, I called and politely denied permission to spray in my yard. I thought the matter was settled.
It came as a great surprise then that they acquired a warrant and showed up at my house without forewarning. I had no recourse nor any time to prepare. It was humiliating to have people I didn’t know entering my property and spraying my trees without my permission. With the CHP present, it felt like a law-enforcement operation.
The CDFA and county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office should be ashamed of themselves for their arrogant dismissal of property owners’ wishes, and also for the deceptive manner in which they acquired a warrant and came onto our properties without warning. There was not so much as a phone call, letter or notice. There was no attempt on their part to be respectful or diplomatic.
Ironically, they slipped an “Advanced Notification of Foliar Treatment” under my doormat before they left — after applying the treatment.
If they had intended to spray one way or the other, then why did they give us the impression we had a choice in the matter? Why hold any community meetings to discuss it?
I understand the need to protect our trees and agricultural resources from pests such as the gypsy moth.
However, the issue for me is bigger than the gypsy moth or the toxicity of Btk. It is the issue of individual liberty and property owners’ rights. I hope that the CDFA and county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office will be held to account.
— Derek Rodrigues lives in Ojai.
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The top management of CDFA do these deeds to support the chemical contracts of their buddies, low lifes that have no consideration for children's lives, etc. They also do these deeds to aquire emergency funding, unnecessary-but they fake that it is a real emergency. Google "cdfa fraud" and see the detail that a professor has written about these specifically named low lifes. Steve Lyle is their front man for speaking to the media. He will say anything, any lie that fits at any time. Its like these guys were molded without hearts in their bodies. A.G. Kawamura is the secretary at the CDFA, the top man. He is a lower than average intelligence guy that has a pony tail to look like he is "One of the guys." He bumbles over his words in public and has no idea of science no matter how much the other low lifes prepare him. This agency puts quality people out of business with a variety of administrative requirement nightmares, so that their crimianal buddies can deliver mass amounts of garbage to the public and make lots of money. That animals, insects, pets, people, seniors, children, pregnant mothers are harmed is no concern of these low lifes - its as though they get pleasure from it.
stop them by whatever is necessary,those killers
This offensive against the natural ecological world has been on-going in Canada for some thirty and more years now. The companies doing the dirty deed are U.S. Chemical corporations in origin such as Hooker chemical, Union Carbide a DOW subsidury, Monsanto and numerous others who make a practice of siphoning funds from the public moneies of the locial governments paid for by the tax-payers. They do this by proclaiming an emergency where there really is none. During the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties and now into the new milleniuim they are still trying to impose their poison solutions against the will of the peoples, not to mention the plants and animals. We the peple have found that the best way to get them out of the licences they obtain from bought of government officials is to do a peoples posse comititis on them. A sort of little fight back organized by the local peoples. This was done nation wide when they obtained herbicide-pesticide permits to use goverenment trucks to spray the right-of-ways of Canadas' railways, highways, and hydro. A cross country anti-social offensive that we the people countered using all and every means necessary to oust them from the spraying jobs as we cought them red-handed. Thusly we liberated over two million acres back to moose pasture. The people were the Canadian Railworkers Union, various other Canadian unions, the first Nations (natives), farners, and various environmentalists organizations. Utilizing popular politics, picketing, leaflets, media events, and actual fighting on the spots that were being assaulted by the poison sprayers. Every and all means necessary. And yes folks guess what, we won each and every battle. However the companies are waiting like vultures to turn our victories to defeat so we must remain ever vigilant to stop their destruction conquesting path to oblivion. I gues this means that the price of freedom is eturnal vigilance. It sure is the case with the whole organic ecollogical green balances of life that the chem. corps are assaulting with the peoples money.
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