Dear Landcare Research New Zealand Limited,

Please can you provide copies of any information held by Landcare relatign to TB in possums and the threat of TB spread from possums which shows:
a) how many possums Landcare has tested for TB in each of the last 10 years - where possible classified by region and the reason for the test eg dead possum, routine sample etc;
b) a breakdown of who made those requests and why they were made (if this is available);
c) how many of those tests were positive for TB each year, and if possible the GPS location or at least approximate location/region of NZ for each of those tests;
d) what dates and locations were possums that were infected with TB released by Landcare, how many TB infected were released, what TB strain were they infected with and what happened to each of those possums
e) what was the result of landcare's research from releasing TB infected possums, and in particular what other possums or other species did that TB spread to?
f) which, if any, of the possums that tested positive for 1080 were possums that had been released by Landcare, or infected by possums that Landcare released, and who commissioned this research?
g) please provide a copy of any application for ethics approval and any resulting consultation and ethics or other approvals did this research.
h) any research, testing, analysis or other information held by Landcare to support the hypothesis that possum spread TB
I) Any research, testing, analysis or other information held by Landcare to show other ways TB may spread to cattle or between cattle including (1) for example from cross contamination by other infected cattle, due to intensive farming practices, cattle yards, cattle trucks, movement of infected stock etc (2) from stoats and or other mustelids (3) other vectors other than possums.
j) Any research, testing, analysis or other information held by Landcare to show the relative risk of the spread of TB from infected cattle to other cattle, compared to the risk of spread of TB from possum to cattle or the spread directly or indirectly from other vectors to cattle.
k) Any research to show the risk of spread of the TB stains in NZ that may affect possums and/or cattle to humans, the incidence of those strains in humans in NZ and the severity of harm from those strains of TB in humans.
l) The estimated current incidence of TB in cattle in New Zealand, and any locations in New Zealand where TB is considered to present a current health, animal welfare or economic problem and any estimates of the scale of this risk

Thank you for your assistance
Kind regards
Sue Grey
ph 022 6910586