Tb

Page No. Source Quotes from Decision Documents
525 3 Agency App. F “[target species possums, deer and possums in area reportedly infected with Tb], fresh deer sign..and live deer seen [after aerial cereal operation]”
533 5 Agency App. F “An aerial 1080 operation targeting possums and ship rats..killed all 13 radio-tagged stoats within 2-18 days of the operation”
534 1 Agency App. F “[in a ground- based 1080 operation] all radio-tagged predators (6 feral cats, 1 stoat, 1 ferret) died of secondary poisoning..all dead animals contained 1080 residues..gut contents indicated consumption of poisoned rodents or..possum carcasses..secondary poisoning of ferrets and cats scavenging poisoned rabbit carcasses has also been observed”
539 1 Agency App. G “The applicants have provided little factual support to demonstrate the efficacy of aerial versus ground application of 1080 as it relates to possum control”
539 2 Agency App. G “The Agency has carried out its own evaluation of the effects of aerial 1080 on possum density as it relates to Tb control but notes that the committee may require a more detailed assessment”
539 3 Agency App. G “The Agency considers that the applicants have not fully detailed the basis for their forecast of the areas predicted to be occupied by Tb infected wildlife without the continued use of 1080”
539 5 Agency App. G “The intention of this vector control [by the AHB].. [includes preventing] the spread of infected wild animals to areas where Tb wild animals have not been identified or suspected”
539 4 Agency App. G “A key function of the AHB is vector control, mainly aimed at possums and ferrets”
540 1 Agency App. G “The Agency notes the applicants have provided little factual support to demonstrate efficacy of aerial compared with ground application of 1080 as it relates to possums and Tb control”
540 2 Agency App. G “The applicants..have provided very limited supporting information to demonstrate the importance of aerial 1080 operations in terms of controlling possums and the subsequent effect on the prevalence of Tb”
540 3 Agency App. G “The applicants have not referenced the statement [that possums are the main maintenance hosts for bovine Tb in NZ]”
542 2 Agency App. G “scavenging played a potential role in the transmission of Tb among ferrets, possum and feral cats and between these species”
543 1 Agency App. G “the Northern end of the [Mackenzie] Basin had a very low possum density so as to make it unlikely that possums were the source of many [Tb] infections in domestic animals. Other possible wild animals, identified..as possible reservoirs of infection, include ferrets and cats”
546 1 Agency App. G “The applicants state that only aerial application can achieve..[the objective of]..Reduction of possum densities below [a RTCI] of 5% for conservation purposes or 2% for eradicating Tb”
546 2 Agency App. G “While the applicants state these negative findings of Tb [from intensive testing and wildlife surveys in operational areas], no results of such surveys or surveillance have been provided..to verify the applicants’ assertions”
547 2 Agency App. G “The probability of Tb extinction within a given time did not vary substantially between aerial and ground-based..methods [in a research model]”
547 1 Agency App. G “No data or references have been supplied by the applicants to verify that [eradication of Tb from wildlife in 5 areas] was achieved thorough the maintenance of an RTCI value lower than 2%”
548 1 Agency App. G “the Agency notes that a RTCI of either 2% or 5% could be used to eradicate Tb”
548 2 Agency App. G “Tb occurs in feral cats and ferrets..their importance as significant reservoirs of Tb infection..is unknown”
548 3 Agency App. G “Tb is present in many predator populations, in particular ferrets, stoats and cats..the high correlation between Tb in domestic livestock and Tb in predators indicates that some sort of relationship exists”
548 4 Agency App. G “rapid reduction to very low possum densities over very large areas is stated by the applicant as being important [because]..it is not economic to try and detect the small areas where foci of Tb actually occur”
549 1 Agency App. G “Tb infection persisted at Hohotaka throughout 5 years of possum control..persistence of the infection [was considered likely to be a] consequence of..little or no effective control after the initial intensive control”
550 1 Agency App. G “The Agency requested that the applicants supply the references used to compile this case study..the applicant has provided no information to support declining numbers of infected herds [in the case study]”
551 1 Agency App. G “The applicants advise that because aerial application provides such a low density of possums relative to ground application..it takes longer for the possum population to recover to a density that requires further control”
554 1 Agency App. G “The Agency considers that this additional explanation provided by the applicants does not fully detail the basis of the model for the “without 1080″ scenario”
554 2 Agency App. G “It is noted that around 3% of all human Tb cases [in NZ] are M.bovis..this [is] equivalent to between 9 and 15 cases per year. The Ministry of Health attributes these low rates to herd testing and the widespread pasteurisation of milk”
555 1 Agency App. G “[human Tb] infection is stated by Regional Public Health to be due to M. Tuberculosis rather than M. bovis [and that] even if bovine Tb were prevalent in cattle it would not present a real risk to human health”
555 2 Agency App. G “The Agency considers that the benefits [to human health] proposed by the applicant, relating to the use of 1080 in controlling and eradicating Tb, are insignificant”
555 3 Agency App. G “the Agency does not consider that any potential increase[d] incidence of bovine Tb among cattle if 1080 were not used for vector control, would significantly impact on human health”
556 1 Agency App. G “The Agency acknowledges that there are other potential methods by which [Tb] may spread [apart from possums], for example other wildlife (such as cats, ferrets and stoats) and through movement of deer and cattle without adherence to the movement control restrictions. The Agency notes that some submitters identify sheep and pigs as potential sources of infection.”
556 2 Agency App. G “Forest buffer zones [around farmland] of 1, 3 and 7 km were aerially treated..[the study concluded that it was] unclear whether the slightly greater benefits of increasing the buffer to 7km [were] sufficient to warrant the expense of control over the wider area”
557 1 Agency App. G “the Agency considers that the relative contributions of possums and other wildlife (particularly ferrets) to Tb infection of cattle and deer herds are not clearly defined at this time”
557 not numbered Agency App. G “The Agency acknowledges the four objectives of aerial application..the relevance of these objectives to the control and/or the eradication of Tb in wild animals are generally supported in the literature”
557 2 Agency App. G “With regard to only aerial application being able to achieve [the AHB’s 4 objectives for possum control regarding Tb] simultaneously, the Agency has identified very little specific supporting  information”
557 3 Agency App. G “While the findings of Speedy (2003) do support the use of aerial application as the more efficacious control operation, the Agency notes that the study was only carried out at one..site..the Agency is therefore unable to comment as to whether the results obtained are representative”
558 1 Agency App. G “the Agency has been unable [to] conclusively determine that aerial application is the only method that will simultaneously achieve the four conditions stated to be required for Tb eradication from wildlife”
580 2 Agency App. J: Cullen “The greater cost effectiveness [in one study] of aerial 1080 derives from its lower costs per hectare and its greater efficacy in killing possums”
580 3 Agency App. J: Cullen “The Application..fails to demonstrate evidence or understanding of economic research on use of 1080, pest control or Tb..this section of the application is unsophisticated, uses crude approaches to estimate even the largest benefits and costs associated with the use of 1080, lacks awareness of many pertinent economic research techniques, seems unaware of almost all relevant economic research”
582 1 Agency App. J: Cullen “The application states the..effect [of using 1080 to control Tb on the chance of formal restrictions access to export markets] is..Major..but provides no supporting calculations [or research, but other authors have said] ‘the chance of NZ facing a ban simultaneously in our major markets is..so small..that it is almost non existent”.”
582 3 Agency App. J: Cullen “No research is cited in the Application that studies the dollar losses occurring from the  loss of one or more export markets [due to market perceptions of NZ’s Tb status, however] Clough & Nixon (2000) conclude..a trade ban would be difficult to sustain under current international trade rules, the risk is very small and the expected value of an avoided trade ban is modest”
590 3 Agency App. K: Ford “The AHB objective of achieving “official freedom”..from Tb is set as the prime target..there is little discussion around the desirability of this outcome”
591 1 Agency App. K: Ford “There is no apparent discussion on the robustness and reliability of this epidemiological monitoring [of Tb prevalence in the future]. There is no discussion or information provided about the risk or sensitivity parameters of the modelling carried out..achievement of the [Tb prevalence] target [may be] very difficult. Some discussion around the perceived ability to realistically achieve this target would be of value”
592 1 Agency App. K: Ford “this brings into question the value of the overall objective of the control programme..[the AHB’s] cost benefit analysis carried out in 1995 showed that farm production and non trade benefits had effectively been achieved by the previous strategy and that any likely future benefits in these two areas were outweighed by the costs of the programme..this would indicate that..the positive benefits from 1080 use hinges entirely on the trade benefits”
592 2 Agency App. K: Ford “The assumption that further funding would not be available has meant that the two scenarios are not able to be modelled with the same end result. The extra costs involved in achieving official freedom [from Tb] without 1080 are presumably greater than the restrained funding available”
596 1 Agency App. K: Ford “Justification for the assessment of this impact [decreased likelihood of loss of markets due to market perceptions of NZ’s Tb status] as E is scant..it is doubtful that a combined assessment of both very likely and of a major magnitude are a credible combination”
875 1 Agency App. T: Submissions “All exported New Zealand meat and pasteurized milk is tested and certified as Tb free”
876 1 Agency App. T: Submissions “We recommend that in making its decisions, ERMA de-emphasise the importance of bovine Tb. From a health perspective, environmental degradation is far more important” (Regional Public Health, Hutt Valley District Health Board)
898 1 Agency App. T: Submissions “A trapper in our area has found no lesions on any possums he has trapped. Other species than possums can spread Tb, and our numbers of pigs with Tb are increasing”
898 2 Agency App. T: Submissions “Ferrets, wild cats, hedgehogs and stock movements are the main Tb vectors”
898 3 Agency App. T: Submissions “Tb infection in my experience is found in wild animals close to farming areas and not in remote forests”
898 4 Agency App. T: Submissions “Tb virtually never exists other than on farm fringe country or in other isolated hot spots” (NZ Deerstalkers’ Association, Hutt Valley)
899 1 Agency App. T: Submissions “Bovine Tb is mainly found in farmland and not found in the bush. In 31 years of harvesting for the kitchen I have never found Tb in animals harvested from public land”
899 2 Agency App. T: Submissions “In over 40 years of recreational hunting, over many parts of NZ, I have never found any evidence of bovine Tb in wild animal carcasses”
899 3 Agency App. T: Submissions “I always check animals taken for symptoms of Tb and have yet (in 30 years of hunting) to find an infected animal. If Tb turns up in farmlands, I question the reasoning for such large campaigns in forest areas miles from farmlands”
899 4 Agency App. T: Submissions “The cost vs the benefit of a Tb-clear country needs to be evaluated. A Treasury paper indicated the cost to be higher than any possible gains or loss through the shipment of contaminated meat”
904 1 Agency App. T: Submissions “many of our export markets have bovine Tb but they do not have widespread 1080 use..My concern is that 1080 could be used as a powerful argument against our agricultural produce”
85 3 Applicants’ references “7-11%..of ferrets on one site and 8-15%..of ferrets at the other site apparently died of secondary 1080 poisoning [after aerial 1080 poisoning]..while we have evidence that secondary poisoning of cats does occur we monitored insufficient numbers..to reliably estimate mortality rates” (Heyward & Norbury, 1999)
131 1 Applicants’ references “Observed decreases in [Tb incidence in deer and cattle] after some poisoning operations may..result from killing of non-target animals, especially ferrets, rather than possums” (Moller et al., 1996)
1 1 Submitter 9114 “I have 47 years experience working as a commercial hunter as well as a recreational hunter..I was trained to recognise Tb in animals. During all my hunting experience I have never seen a Tb infected animal in areas away from farmland”
2 1 Submitter 8529 “in 35 years of hunting in the back country I have never..harvested a possum or game animal with Tb”
4 1 Submitter 9142 “After rabbit poisoning in spring, ferret home ranges tripled in size at a Central Otago site that experienced a 99% rabbit kill” (Ragg & Byrom review)
6 1 Submitter 9142 “It appears that ferrets are capable of transmitting infection to stock.. [2 experiments have demonstrated that where] ferret populations have been reduced by trapping, the incidence in Tb declines” (Ragg & Byrom review)
6 2 Submitter 9142 “[2 experiments have demonstrated that] it is very hard to reduce ferret populations for any length of time” (Ragg & Byrom review)
7 1 Submitter 9142 “stock [cattle & deer] came in close contact with the [sedated] ferret and it was concluded that ferrets could spread Tb by this type of interaction” (Ragg & Byrom review)
7 2 Submitter 9142 “most VRAs [areas where Tb has been identified] have been expanding but some have expanded very quickly, much faster than fronts of infection thought to involve possums..[e.g.] in North Canterbury..infection spread very quickly..it was thought that ferrets were involved because they were abundant..had a high prevalence of Tb and ferret control reduced cattle infection rates” (Ragg & Byrom Review)
8 1 Submitter 9142 “High prevalence of Tb in ferrets has been observed even when possum numbers are naturally low, or when possum control has already reduced populations, or when wildlife surveys have failed to find infection in possums” (Ragg & Byrom review)
8 2 Submitter 9142 “Ferrets are very likely to be infected from other animals, such as Tb possums or hedgehogs” (Ragg & Byrom Review)
35 1 Committee Decision “AHB uses 1080 exclusively for possum control with a view to eradicating bovine Tb from wild animal populations”
48 1 Committee Decision “The use of 1080 to reduce possum populations has been pivotal to these programmes” (pest control to reduce Tb)
49 1 Committee Decision “any increase in the incidence of bovine Tb in NZ could be used as a pretext for restricting our access to overseas markets”
49 3 Committee Decision “While it has not been able to quantify the risks posed by Tb in terms of reduced consumer demand or market access restrictions, the Committee does consider the beneficial effect of reducing these risks to be significant”
49 2 Committee Decision “there is no evidence to support the suggestion that trade is significantly reduced by not having bovine Tb-free status”
80 1 Committee Decision “AHB..is happy to consider using deer repellent for all its operations in areas where hunting is undertaken”