Comments on Licence Application No. DIR 194.
The Invasive Species Council recommends that the Gene Technology Regulator refuses the application for a licence to conduct a field trial of perennial ryegrass genetically modified for increased metabolisable energy content. We strongly disagree with the assessment that the ‘risks to the environment from the proposed release are negligible’.
We recommend rejection of the application on the basis that the field trial is likely to pose an unacceptable risk to the environment based on the following rationale.