Supers:
Gainesville, FL
Dr. Marshall Breeze - UF Study Coordinator
TRT :35
LEAD:
VO:
SOT:
DESPITE DESTROYING A HALF MILLION CITRUS TREES SINCE LAST YEAR, THE CITRUS CANKER ERADICATION PROGRAM IS STRONGLY SUPPORTED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK PART IN A NEW UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA SURVEY.
MORE THAN SEVEN HUNDRED SOUTH FLORIDA RESIDENTS PARTICIPATED IN THE SURVEY TO FIND OUT HOW THEY FELT ABOUT THE STATE-MANDATED PROGRAM TO ERADICATE CITRUS CANKER. THE RESULTS SHOWED THREE QUARTERS OF ALL THE RESIDENTS SURVEYED IN DADE AND BROWARD COUNTIES EITHER STRONGLY APPROVED OR SOMEWHAT APPROVED OF THE CITRUS CANKER ERADICATION PROGRAM WHICH BURNS INFECTED OR EXPOSED CITRUS TREES. CITRUS CANKER IS A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AND INCURABLE BACTERIAL INFECTION THAT ATTACKS CITRUS TREES. OFFICIALS CONDUCTING THE SURVEY SAID MOST OF THE PEOPLE THEY SPOKE TO SAID THEY UNDERSTOOD THE NEED FOR CITRUS CANKER ERADICATION MEASURES.
BREEZE: "Well, our interviews were done with a random sample
of Dade and Broward Counties households. We talked to peopel who had not
been effected by the program...people who had been visited by program
officials...and people who had trees removed. While there were some
differences in opinion across the three categories, support or express
approval of the eradication program was consistently positive across all
three groups." (:35)