A massive aerial drop of 120 tonnes of carrots laced with the rabbit-killing calicivirus began last week over the Mackenzie Country, farmers said.

Three aircraft were used to drop virus doses over much of the Mackenzie Basin, property owner Duncan Urquart of Lake Tekapo said.

It is understood to be the start of one of New Zealand's biggest air-drops of rabbit bait.

Other farmers were understood to be planning similar drops in Marlborough and North Canterbury, where the virus had not yet spread.

Mr Urquhart said the aim of the drop was to spread the virus as far as possible before Cabinet meets this week, at which ministers would consider what to do about the virus.

Farmers feared the Government might ban the use of the virus.

The drop began over the eastern and southeastern part of the Mackenzie Basin, and had been organised by about 15 farmers.

Agriculture Ministry spokeswoman Debbie Gee said that though the Ministry had not been officially informed of the drop, she had heard a hint.

Though it might not be technically illegal to spread the virus by air, it was certainly a cavalier thing to do considering that decisions on the future management of the organism in New Zealand had not yet been made.

The farmers would have been better to wait for the Government's decision, she said.

Federated Farmers North otago president Alistair Mavor said "spraying the virus around willy-nilly" might not be the right thing to do, given that it was not yet known how the virus worked.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has warned that babies, and cancer and Aids sufferers are most at risk of catching RCD.

The risk to all humans - and other animal species - was a concern because scientific data about the disease was so inadequate, public health medicine senior health medicine adviser Alison Roberts said.


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