Abusive owners clash with council

Environmental Northland manager Keith Thompson

Increased reporting from cellphone-toting travellers is adding to tensions between some Mokau stock owners and council contractors tasked with getting wandering beasts off the highway.

Whangarei District Council has regularly dealt with wandering stock in the Mokau area about 45km north of Whangarei for 22 years. However, now it is common for staff to visit the spot more than once a day, said Environmental Northland manager Keith Thompson.

Usually, there are 20 to 23 calls a month about wandering stock in the Mokau/Oakura area, with clashes between staff and locals sometimes requiring police intervention.

Abusive language and threats are common, even when staff are closing gates that have been left open.

Mr Thompson said he has even been verbally abused over the issue while shopping with his wife.

Some in question are bush cattle. Others are horses, cows and pigs that have escaped through shabby fences or more commonly, gates that are left open. Multiple-owned land and stock made it hard to hold one person to account, Mr Thompson said. In August, he had been forced to shoot three horses after one was hit by a car and its companions bolted. He said the entire situation was wasteful, in terms of animals' lives and the huge cost of shooting and disposing of the animals.

"When you've got to go to Mokau and shoot perfectly healthy animals because they're on the road because of selfishness, that's not fair. And it's not fair for the poor bugger that's got to do the shooting," he said.

Meetings to address the issue had been empty and a leaflet drop saw six or seven returned with abuse written on them.

At last month's full council meeting staff were authorised under the Local Government Act to take legal action against owners responsible.

Staff said in a report that "where landowners will not co-operate in either upgrading fences and ensuring gates are kept closed, some form of legal action may be required". But Mr Thompson said this would be extremely difficult.

"They're community owned so there's no one person to be accountable."