Dear Department of Conservation,
Dear Queenstown DoC office,
(btw this request has been duplicated to the Queenstown DoC office)

Please answer these following questions for me at your earliest convenience. As this is an Official Information Request, I understand that you have 20 days to reply, however, I am happy to receive the information as soon as possible from the Department.

Question: What ecological testing has been carried out prior to this aerial poison operation - Dart, Routeburn and Caples Valleys August 2019? Please include current and up to date rat, mice, mustelid numbers, white tail deer and Red deer numbers. Please include current and up to date native bird species counts.

Question: How long does deer repellent last on 1080 baits in cold and/or wet (winter) conditions?

Question: What is DoC attempting to achieve in these drops? In other words, what animals are they trying to kill, and what animals are they trying to protect? Of the animal species DoC is attempting to protect, have those species previously been found to be adversely affected by 1080 poison operations?

Question: What does your data suggest, from previous poison operations in this area, is the likely native species to experience by-kill and what amount is considered acceptable to DoC? What non-native species is expected to experience by-kill and what amount is considered acceptable?

Question: DoC's data appears to point to the fact that rat populations increase to 5 to 6 times greater than before the poison operation in under a year, after a 1080 poison operation and therefore further endanger bird populations, and bearing in mind that rats need constant predation to effectively manage their numbers and protect our bird species, what is DoC doing in this area by way of ground control to prevent this happening?

Question: What the amount of bait used and the bait coverage rate for this poison operation?

Question: What are the plans for post-1080 drop ecological tests - insects numbers, soil biome, 1080 uptake into plant life - that sort of thing?

Question: Where is the surface water testing to be carried out for this poison operation? (Bearing in mind that this operation will drop enough poison to kill several hundred thousand humans, it's probably worth making sure that the poison isn't ending up in people's drinking water.)

Question: What budget has been set for trapping of rats, mice and mustelids in this region (the area being poisoned) for the previous ten years, and for the next five years? What budget has been set aside by this DOC region for research into 1080 poison alternatives specific to this region?

Question: There have been a number of 1080 poison operations in this region over the past ten years. in light of that, is Glenorchy's drinking water being tested for both fluoroacetate and fluorocitrate?

Question: As 1080 poison has been shown to be teratogenic at parts per billion, and cause miscarriages at extremely low doses, what effort, if any, has been made to warn pregnant Glenorchy residents about this fact, and for them to take special precautions? Are you aware if the Public Health Officer has made an attempt to contact and warn the locals about this?

Question: I noticed that Glenorchy water supply previously had no e.coli bacteria present in its water supply, but since 1080 aerial poison drops, coincidentally now is showing e.coli in the town supply which required the water to be chlorinated. One explanation is that the poisoned dead animals end up in water ways and cause contamination that way - has this been ruled out in this instance? Does the District Council consider this a 'one off/coincidence'? 1) http://www.glenorchycommunity.nz/news/la... 2) https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown...

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

warm regards, Tracy Livingston