Westland mayor Maureen Pugh says the district council will be forced to support a ban on the use of 1080 poison to kill possums, following a local petition and march on Thursday.
The march was organised by Westland residents who collected more than 1800 signatures on a petition calling for the council to get behind the 1080 ban.
Ms. Pugh says the council will respect its residents decision, as 92% of those who signed the petition favoured a ban.
About 200 people marched along Hokitika’s main street to the council building, where they presented the petition to the mayor.
The drop, managed by the Animal Heath Board, is aimed at keeping tuberculosis from spreading in the region via possums. But protesters say the poisoning method is outdated and unsafe.
TB Free West Coast says 1080 is still the best available means of controlling possums and tuberculosis and the future of the region's dairy industry depends on it.
