Thread: TB In Hawkes Bay

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

the two legged spreader is pretty bad too...the dark of night trailer load n unloads havent done anyone any favours.

Yes. That's dumb. But won't have much of a detrimental effect once the 'possums reach a certain low level.

when I was a teen living in Kaitieke ,any night time trip to Taumarunui was good for running over half a dozen possums,heck I used to get them with motorbike by putting out stiff leg. I shot 11 in small empty hay barn at one time...11 shots with single shot .22 three escaped. poisoned 300 on one squirt line and helped mate skin 600....... 2 years ago were back up there...saw 2 possums in a week with lots of night driving,the green rain bombardments and follow up have blitzed them but he deer n pigs still abound. to say I was shocked is understatement.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Yes. That's dumb. But won't have much of a detrimental effect once the 'possums reach a certain low level.

You would think so. But where a large percentage of the Tb popped up in Hawkes Bay the possum numbers are extremely low. Nearly 20 years of control some of it had had and through a lot of that time 1% no line over 1 was the rtc rate. A fair chunk had been rolled out of the Tb Free program as it was declared free of Tb and a large portion of the remaining area in the program was due to be rolled out of the program the year the big outbreak happened.
One of the farms that has got it twice, records show not a single possum has been caught off that property for several years.
No doubt possums have a major role to play in the spread of Tb but also keep in mind that if farmed deer can contract Tb then farms with mobs of 20 plus deer most certainly could too, especially considering a deer will often not seccumb to Tb so can harbor it for a decade or more.

Originally Posted by TLB

You would think so. But where a large percentage of the Tb popped up in Hawkes Bay the possum numbers are extremely low. Nearly 20 years of control some of it had had and through a lot of that time 1% no line over 1 was the rtc rate. A fair chunk had been rolled out of the Tb Free program as it was declared free of Tb and a large portion of the remaining area in the program was due to be rolled out of the program the year the big outbreak happened.
One of the farms that has got it twice, records show not a single possum has been caught off that property for several years.
No doubt possums have a major role to play in the spread of Tb but also keep in mind that if farmed deer can contract Tb then farms with mobs of 20 plus deer most certainly could too, especially considering a deer will often not seccumb to Tb so can harbor it for a decade or more.

Yes. It is the wild deer population that cant maintain a critical level of TB to be regarded as an important vector. Non 'possum related spread ((animal to animal) is not difficult to stamp out once identified. If 'possum numbers are low in new infection areas it is a blessing.

Possum numbers are on the rise in HB. I was out on a rabbit job on a small lifestyle block tonight, was packing up my gear to head home and heard "claws on roof iron" so I looked up and found 3 Possums in one tree! Land owner had no idea there were any on his property. Sorted them out and then on the way home my car decided it was still on duty and nailed one that ran out in front of me! Caught that on the dash cam. Had a call out a few weeks ago from a different client who had a couple living in his shed too, and I even found one at my house barking at me from my silver birch recently! Before this little burst of possum activity I hadn't seen one around here for years!

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

the two legged spreader is pretty bad too...the dark of night trailer load n unloads havent done anyone any favours.

Definitely, but it is almost impossible to move cattle from an infected farm like that these days im sure in the past it happened.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Massive? In 1994 there were 1,700 infected cattle & deer herds. Today there are about 30.

https://www.ospri.co.nz/tb-and-pest-...-herd-numbers/

If you are talking TB in feral deer OSPRI doesn't regard deer as being a major in the TB cycle any more and they don't have the budget to target them anyway.

In fact deer and pigs can be a useful sentinel to monitor if there is TB in possums. Possums are the out and out problem in the spread of TB and thats where OSPRI''s focus is. If they reduce the possum to a certain point TB can not be maintained in the population and TB will be eradicated. That is their goal.

There is a big OSPRI possum poisoning program kicking off soon in the lower NI and it will go on for at least 3 years or longer. Tararuas, Rimutakas and Haurangis. 100% deer repellent with the new repellent that gets mixed in when the baits are made.

Other areas should lobby OSPRI for repellent. They view it now as part of gaining the social licence so the probability of them using it is the highest its ever been. If you don't think it works, go and have a look at the deer population in the Haurangis where its been used for the last few years.

As always....... the voice of reasoning

The new repellent certainly killed a fair few in Molesworth from anecdotal accounts but seems to have not killed the majority. A big step forward from the previous operation.

Just came out of Makahu this evenings, prob counted 30 possums on the road....hmmm

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Lepto is doing the rounds too

Originally Posted by Puddleduk

The new repellent certainly killed a fair few in Molesworth from anecdotal accounts but seems to have not killed the majority. A big step forward from the previous operation.

@Puddleduk .... was this subsequent operation monitored and reported ?

Originally Posted by Tahr

Yes. It is the wild deer population that cant maintain a critical level of TB to be regarded as an important vector. Non 'possum related spread ((animal to animal) is not difficult to stamp out once identified. If 'possum numbers are low in new infection areas it is a blessing.

Yup..... 'elephant in the room' is what will happen when TB is eradicated from possums in an area, OSPRI work ceases, and possum numbers start to rebuild? There will be the biodiversity issues, and the potential for TB transmission from undetected infections in stock back into the possum population?

So if that occurs then presumably OSPRI will return, but if TB is kept out the biodiversity challenges remain....

Originally Posted by Maxx

@Puddleduk .... was this subsequent operation monitored and reported ?

Yes, should be on the Ospri site somewhere

Originally Posted by Puddleduk

The new repellent certainly killed a fair few in Molesworth from anecdotal accounts but seems to have not killed the majority. A big step forward from the previous operation.

Look at this.

https://www.ospri.co.nz/assets/Resou...eport-2021.pdf

Results
• Deer. Only 39 deer were recorded as alive and present in the standard broadcast area just before 1080 baiting. Of these, two died on the day of the 1080 baiting operation, indicating an estimated incidental 1080-by-kill of 5.1% (95% CI 0.9–18.7%). There were 358 incidental sightings of non-radio-collared live and dead deer (351 live, 7 dead) in the baited area after the 1080 baiting which would equate to a by-kill of 2.0%. Most sightings were from the helicopter (98.9%). The relative sighting rate of live and dead deer seen from the helicopter (excluding radio-collared deer) was 10.7 and 0.2 deer per flying hour, respectively.

Possums aren't the only source of spreading TB, Ferrets, stoats etc are a major factor too. I remember a case many years ago in the South Island when TB reactors kept popping up and the possum numbers were virtually non existent, after a lot of head scratching managers figured it out when eventually they caught a ferret riddled with TB. Once control work was carried out on them the reactor numbers reduced.