POST OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR AERIAL 1080 POSSUM …€¦ · 6 July 2019 Pre-feed application 24-hour...

POST OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR AERIAL 1080 POSSUM CONTROL CLARENCE VALLEY (CLARENCE WEST, WAIAUTOA, KEKERENGU) JULY 2019

Contents

1. OPERATIONAL SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................ 3

1.1 Operational Management .................................................................................................................................................. 3

1.2 Individual Aerial Treatments ............................................................................................................................................... 3

1.3 Permissions and Consents .................................................................................................................................................. 3

1.4 Monitoring Results and Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 4

1.5 Complaints and Incidents ................................................................................................................................................... 4

2. TREATMENT DETAILS ................................................................................................................................................... 5

2.1 Treatment 1 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5

2.2 Treatment 2 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6

3. CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION ............................................................................................................................ 7

3.1 Consultation and Notification Process ................................................................................................................................ 7

3.2 Consultation and Notification Outcomes ........................................................................................................................... 7

3.3 Communication Timeline .................................................................................................................................................... 7

4. INCIDENT SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................... 8

5. MONITORING ............................................................................................................................................................... 8

6. APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................................................. 9

6.1 Water Test Results .............................................................................................................................................................. 9

6.2 Incident Reports................................................................................................................................................................ 10

6.3 Monitoring Reports........................................................................................................................................................... 10

6.4 Operational Maps ............................................................................................................................................................. 13

7. REPORT CHECK LIST .................................................................................................................................................... 14

1. OPERATIONAL SUMMARY

1.1 OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT

OPERATION NAME CLARENCE VALLEY

Size (hectares) 14,683 hectares

Purpose of the operation To control possum numbers to eradicate bovine TB

Land ownership/management Public land and private land

Funding agency OSPRI New Zealand Limited

Operation Management (Organisation) TBfree New Zealand Limited

Principal aerial contracting company Vector Free Marlborough Ltd

Report submitted by (Organisation) OSPRI New Zealand Limited

Date submitted 17/12/2019

1.2 INDIVIDUAL AERIAL TREATMENTS

TREATMENT AREA NAME SIZE OF TREATED AREA (HECTARES)

Clarence West and Waiautoa 12,845 hectares

Kekerengu 1,838 hectares

TOTAL 14,683 hectares

1.3 PERMISSIONS AND CONSENTS

PERMISSION AUTHORITY

ISSUE DATE (DD/MM/YY) UNIT/OFFICE APPLICATION ID /FILE REFERENCE

MOH 12/04/2019 Christchurch 19/1187/BW/CHRPH

DOC 28/06/2019 Renwick 5994444

TERRITORIAL LOCAL AUTHORITY(S) (DISTRICT COUNCIL; CITY COUNCIL; UNITARY AUTHORITY)

SOUTH ISLAND

Environment Canterbury

1.4 MONITORING RESULTS AND OUTCOMES

EFFECTS ON SPECIES TARGETED FOR THE OPERATION

Target species Possum

Target species numbers pre-operation Not monitored

Objective of operation (quantify planned effect on species numbers)

To reduce the possum population to low densities and thus eliminate TB from the vector population in this area.

Effect of operation on target species post-operation The aerial block treated in this operation was used in a trial to determine the efficacy of a new deer repellent bait. As part of this trial, possums were radio-collared prior to application to monitor survival rate. Preliminary findings indicate that the mortality rate was 99%

EFFECTS OF OPERATION ON SPECIES TO BENEFIT

Species to benefit (List key species at risk that prompted control operation. Use common names where possible)

Cattle

Deer

Was monitoring of species to benefit undertaken? Yes. Routine TB testing applies

Effect of operation on species to benefit (comment) Reduction in possum numbers with focus on eradication of bovine TB in the Clarence Reserve TB Management Area.

EFFECTS OF OPERATION ON OTHER SPECIES

Were any other species identified in the operation area? (List all species identified)

Feral red deer Feral goats

EFFECTS OF THE OPERATION ON WATER QUALITY

Was water quality monitoring undertaken? Yes

If water sampling was undertaken, how many samples were taken? 4

How many samples were above the Method Detection Limit? 0

Were any of the detected samples above the TEL (3.5 µg 1080/litre)? No

Effect of the operation on water quality (comment based on monitoring results)

Nil

1.5 COMPLAINTS AND INCIDENTS

COMPLAINTS AND INCIDENTS RESULTING FROM THE OPERATION

Were there any incidents resulting from this operation? Record details under Section 4 - Incidents

No

Were there any complaints about this operation? Record details under Section 4 - Incidents

No

2. TREATMENT DETAILS

2.1 TREATMENT 1

OPERATION NAME CLARENCE VALLEY - CLARENCE WEST and WAIAUTOA

Block size (treated hectares) 12,845 hectares

PRE FEED APPLICATION

Type of bait RS5 Cereal 6gram

Sowing rate (kg bait/ha) 1KG

Date(s) of application Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

8 July 2019 9 July 2019 -

1080 APPLICATION

Type of bait RS5 Cereal 6 gram - 0.15% 1080 Cereal-Based Pellets Containing 1.5-2.0g Sodium Fluoroacetate/Kg

Target toxic loading (% 1080) 0.15%


Lures added Cinnamon

Repellents added Deer repellent

Aircraft Type Helicopter

Type of Navigational Guidance system used

TRAC MAP

Weather conditions Dates of application Wind Speed Range (Km/Hr) Wind Direction

Day 1 25 July 2019 5 to 10 kilometres Southerly


End of Caution Period 26 January 2020

2.2 TREATMENT 2

OPERATION NAME CLARENCE VALLEY - KEKERENGU

Block size (treated hectares) 1,838 hectares

PRE FEED APPLICATION

Type of bait RS5 Cereal 6gram


Date(s) of application Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

8 July 2019 9 July 2019 -

1080 APPLICATION

Type of bait RS5 Cereal 6 gram - 0.15% 1080 Cereal-Based Pellets Containing 1.5-2.0g Sodium Fluoroacetate/Kg

Target toxic loading (% 1080) 0.15%


Lures added Cinnamon

Repellents added N/A

Aircraft Type Helicopter

Type of Navigational Guidance system used

TRAC MAP

Weather conditions Date of application Wind Speed Range (Km/Hr) Wind Direction



End of Caution Period 26 January 2020

3. CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION

3.1 CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION PROCESS

Vector Free Marlborough Ltd consulted with directly affected landowners, wider landowners within the 3-kilometre buffer

to the treatment area and identified interested parties. These included: NZDA Marlborough, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Trust,

Ngāti Rārua Iwi Trust, Te Runanga a Rangitane o Wairau Trust and Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura.

The treatment area included public land managed by DOC.

Consultation and notification processes began initially in December of 2018 to determine the project boundaries, from then

multiple consultations were carried out to fine-tune the boundaries, and to prepare for the Deer Repellent trial which was

introduced to the project late in the planning.

Additional notification of the operation took place because it was part of the Deer Repellent Trial.

3.2 CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION OUTCOMES

The consultation resulted in some very small changes. The first was due to stock risk where an unfenced boundary was

identified in the Waiautoa block: a new fence was erected to keep stock out of the treatment area. The second was an area

of high country that was not treated because it was deemed to be non-possum habitat.

No direct feedback was received from iwi; however, a recent check in with these groups has been undertaken. Feedback

indicated that Te Rūnanga O Kaikōura welcome greater, more-proactive engagement (eg hui, opportunity to respond to

consultation requests etc) whilst other iwi still want notification of aerial operations but will only respond if these directly

affect their interests.

All permissions (landowner, DOC and PHU) were obtained.

3.3 COMMUNICATION TIMELINE

1 Aug 2018 National consultation including interested parties for this operation (iwi and hunting groups)

Early Dec 2018 Land occupier consultation began

Early Apr 2019 Decision made to include a deer repellent trial in the project.

Early April 2019 Consult was updated to include information on the deer repellent trial

5 July 2019 Public notice issued in the Christchurch Press

6 July 2019 Pre-feed application 24-hour notification

8 July 2019 Pre-feed application

23 July 2019 Toxic application 24-hour notification

25-26 July 2019 Toxic application

A full summary of notification and consultation activities is available on request

4. INCIDENT SUMMARY

No incidents

5. MONITORING

SPECIES IDENTIFIED DESIGNATION WAS MONITORING UNDERTAKEN?

WHEN? (IN RELATION TO THE OPERATION)

WHO CARRIED OUT THE MONITORING? (NAME OF ORGANISATION)

MONITORING COMPLETED?

RESULTS OF MONITORING (COMMENT)

Feral red deer, possums At risk from operation Yes During the operation Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research (MWLR)

Yes This aerial operation was used as part of the trial of a new deer repellent bait. Both deer and possums were radio collared to check its efficacy as a deer repellent and as a toxic bait for possums. Preliminary findings are located in Appendix 6.3

6. APPENDICES

6.1 WATER TEST RESULTS

Toxicology Laboratory

Analysis Report

54 Gerald Street PO Box 69040 Lincoln, 7640 Ph: +64 3 321 9999 Fax: +64 3 321 9998

Report No: T7191

CLIENT: Barry Polson, Vector Free Marlborough Ltd, Private Bag 1007, Blenheim .

CLIENT REFERENCE No.: Clarence West Telephone No: 03 570 5508

SAMPLES: Four water samples

REQUIREMENT: Examine for fluoroacetate

RECEIVED: 29 July 2019

Sample/s were received for analysis. The details were entered into the laboratory sample system and the sample/s

given a reference number. The sample details and results are as follows:

No. samples: 4

LabNo. Description Fluoroacetate, µg/mL

23093 Water sample, DEBO 1, 26/7/19 <MDL 23094 Water sample, DEBO 2, 26/7/19 <MDL

23095 Water sample, DEBO 1, 27/7/19 <MDL

23096 Water sample, DEBO 2, 27/7/19 <MDL

All results are reported to two significant figures.

The determination was carried out using TLM005, the assay of fluoroacetate in water, soil and biological materials by

GLC. The method detection limit (MDL) is 0.0001µg/mL and the uncertainty

(95% c.i.) is ± 12%.

TESTED BY: lhb WORKBOOK REF: 14/18

These results are confidential to the client and relate only to the samples as received and tested. This report may be reproduced in full only. The samples relating to this report will be disposed of after two months from the report date unless requested otherwise by the client. Where appropriate, the above results will be included in anonymised form in the National Vertebrate Pesticide Residue Database.

Date: 30/07/2019

AUTHORISED BY:

L.H.Booth

TEST PERIOD: 29-30/7/19

6.2 INCIDENT REPORTS – N/A

6.3 MONITORING REPORTS

MILESTONE REPORT TO OSPRI

Project Code and Title R-10827 Field testing efficacy of PCR deer repellent.

Research Leaders Grant Morriss, Ivor Yockney & Graham Nugent

Milestone 3a Preliminary summary of trial results

Value of Milestone: N/A Completion Date: 29 August 2019

Commentary

Background

Following a December 2018 meeting, OSPRI contracted MWLR to field test a new deer-repellent formulation

incorporated within PCR Pestex® 1080 bait. The aim was to assess the efficacy of this new formulation in reducing

possum abundance and minimising deer by-kill relative to that for the same bait without repellent. The trial was

conducted in winter 2019, in conjunction with the OSPRI aerial 1080 operations listed in Table 1. Initial assessment

of outcomes was completed in early August and was quickly followed by substantial hearsay commentary in social

media. This uncontracted interim report is therefore intended to provide a preliminary summary of main results

that OSPRI staff can use to respond to that commentary if required. The final results will be presented (as planned)

in a full final report (Milestone 3).

Methods

The trial design comprised an unreplicated comparison of the percentages of radio-collared possums and deer

killed between areas subject to aerial 1080 baiting with and without the new deer repellent. The capture and radio-

collaring of deer in Clarence West and Upper Awatere South operational areas was carried out from 10 to 24 May

2019 (Table 1). Trapping and radio-collaring of possums was conducted in Waiautoa and Upper Awatere South

operational areas from 14 April to 23 May 2019 (Table 1).

Aerial baiting with Pestex® 1080 cereal bait without deer repellent was carried out in the Upper Awatere South

operational area on 8 and 9 June 2019, and with repellent in the Clarence West and Waiautoa operational areas on

25 and 26 July 2019. The toxic bait was sown at 2 kg/ha (following non-toxic prefeeding at 1 kg/ha).

Table 1. Operational areas in the Clarence and Awatere Valleys listing area, bait type to be used, and number of deer and possums radio

collared.

Operational area Area (ha) Bait type used Deer collared Possums collared

Clarence West 6,917 Pestex® DR 22

Waiautoa 6,363 Pestex® DR 10 91

Upper Awatere Sth 9,4471 Pestex® 22 73

Kekerengu 1,750 Pestex® 1 Excludes Molesworth component.

DR = deer repellent.

Results

Non-repellent area: Aerial radio-tracking on 12 June 2019 indicated that 68 of 69 possums still present when 1080

bait was sown had died (Table 2), a 98.6% kill; (95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 91.1-99.9%). Movement-sensing

recording in the transmitters indicated most (n=66) of the killed possums died the first night bait was available,

and the other three on the second night.

For deer, pre-1080 aerial radio-tracking sessions indicated that half of the radio-collared deer had moved out of

the treatment area by the time toxic bait was sown. All of the 11 radio-collared deer still within the operational

area when 1080 bait was sown died, a 100% by-kill (95% CI = 74.1-100.0%). The deer all died within 1 or 2 days of

toxic bait being sown. Tissue and rumen samples have been collected for 1080 analysis from 10 of the radio-

collared deer killed and 10 other deer found dead, with 1080 detected in all of them.

Repellent area: Aerial radio-tracking on 29 July 2019 indicated all 82 live possums still present when 1080 bait was

sown had died (Table 2), a 100.0% kill (95% CI = 95.1–100.0%). Most (80; 97.5%) of the killed possums died the first

night bait was available, the other two on the second night.

All except one of the 31 collared deer were still present in the operational area when 1080 bait was sown. Of the 30

still present, 19 died (63.3% kill; 95% CI = 43.9–79.5%). Of the deer killed, 17 (89%) died within a day of bait being

sown, one after two days and one after four days. The latter two died close to the operational boundary so may

not have encountered bait as soon as it was sown. Tissue and rumen samples have been collected from collared

deer and also seven uncollared deer but have yet to be analysed for 1080.

Table 2. The fate of radio-collared possums and deer following aerial baiting with Pestex® 1080 bait without deer repellent in the Upper Awatere

South operational area. Eleven deer were outside the operational area at the time of baiting and are not included in the % kill calculation.

At time of baiting Post-baiting

Species Inside operational

area

Outside operational

area

Alive Dead % kill

Possum 691 0 1 68 99

Deer 11 11 0 11 100 1Four collared possums are not included in the total because either, transmitter signals were not heard during radio-

tracking post-baiting or, they had mortality signals prior to toxic bait being sown (indicating either a broken off collar or

a possum that had died from other causes).

Table 3. The fate of radio-collared possums and deer following aerial baiting with Pestex® deer repellent 1080 bait in the Waiautoa and Clarence

West operational areas. One deer was outside the operational areas at the time of baiting and another died soon after collaring and are not

included in the % kill calculation.

At time of baiting Post-baiting

Species Inside operational

area

Outside operational

area

Alive Dead % kill

Possum 821 0 0 82 100

Deer 30 1 11 19 63

1Nine collared possums are not included in the total because they had mortality signals prior to toxic bait being sown

(indicating either a broken off collar or a possum that had died from other causes).

Summary

Prefed Pestex® 1080 bait had very high control efficacy against possums both with and without the incorporation

of the new deer repellent. However, there was also a high deer by-kill when no repellent bait was used at this

sowing rate. Where deer repellent bait was used, we recorded a 36% lower by-kill (95% CI = 13–60%; Fisher exact

test p=0.04), indicating strong evidence of a real reduction.

6.4 OPERATIONAL MAPS

7. REPORT CHECK LIST

OPERATIONAL INFORMATION

Have you completed all fields in the operational summary section 1? Complete

Have you completed the communications timeline section 3? Complete

Have you completed all fields in the incidents section 4? Not applicable

Have you completed all fields in the monitoring section 5? Complete

Have you inserted all incident reports under section 6? Not applicable

TREATMENT BLOCK INFORMATION

Have you completed all fields in the pre-feed section for each block? Complete

Have you completed all fields in the 1080 application section for each block? Complete

MONITORING RESULTS

Have you included all water monitoring results undertaken for this operation? Complete

Have you inserted all copies of water monitoring reports under section 6? Complete

Have you identified all Target Species monitoring undertaken in conjunction with this operation?

Complete

Have you either supplied all monitoring data, or indicated when it will be available? Complete

Have you identified all Beneficiary Species monitoring undertaken in conjunction with this operation?

Not applicable

Have you either supplied all monitoring data, or indicated when it will be available? Not applicable

Have you identified all Threatened Species monitoring undertaken in conjunction with this operation?

Not applicable


Have you identified all Non-Target Species monitoring undertaken in conjunction with this operation?

Complete

Have you either supplied all monitoring data, or indicated when it will be available? Complete

Have you identified all Taonga Species monitoring undertaken in conjunction with this operation?

Not applicable


POST OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR AERIAL 1080 POSSUM …€¦ · 6 July 2019 Pre-feed application 24-hour...

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