Buller river poisoning - Report by HSNO enforcement officer
Wendy Pond made this Official Information request to West Coast District Health Board
The request was partially successful.
From: Wendy Pond
Dear West Coast District Health Board and Canterbury District Health Board,
1080 poisoning of the Buller river catchment in 2019 resulted in poisoned animals washed down the Buller river and poisoned marine life washed up onto west coast beaches. Animals poisoned by 1080 operations are a public health hazard as the poison can remain active in carcasses as fluorocitrate, especially in intestines and bones.
Q1. Please provide a dated list of the visits made by HSNO Enforcement and Public Health Officers which relate to the poisoning operation. The visits may include the helicopter loading site, checking that buffer zones and public pathways were not poisoned, the river banks and mouth and coastline where poisoned carcasses were deposited, the testing laboratories, the disposal area, and any other sites connected with the conduct and effects of the poisoning operation.
Q2. Please provide copies of the reports produced by these officers.
Q3. Please provide copies of reports produced by or for the Board reviewing the 1080 poisoning operation.
Yours faithfully,
Wendy Pond
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Wendy Pond left an annotation ()
West Coast District Health Board has responded that it does not receive OIA requests from fyi.org.nz. I received a response via personal correspondence on 2 March 2020. I am now asking these questions for clarification:
Kathleen Smitheram
Canterbury District Health Board and West Coast District Health Board
Official Information Act Co-ordinator, Planning and Funding
Level 2, 32 Oxford Terrace
PO Box 1600
Christchurch 8140
Thank you for the responses to my OIA requests WCDHB 9391 and 9394, 2 March 2020. May I please ask for this clarification: The conditions for permission for use of aerial poisoning in catchments of the Buller river that resulted in carcasses being washed up in public places, were written by the Medical Officer of Health. She did not audit the operation.
Without being present and without an audit, by what means does the HSNO Enforcement Officer know that the conditions of permission were adhered to?
Who is responsible for ensuring the safety of public health when an aerially dispersed VTA is used, and when effects occur outside the boundaries of the permitted operation?
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