Northland horsewoman Claire Ganantchian said a Far North Holdings staff member became aggressive with her after her horse left behind some poo.
Northland horsewoman Claire Ganantchian said a Far North Holdings staff member became aggressive with her after her horse left behind some poo.
Northland farmer Claire Ganantchian was left flabbergasted after what she describes as “the most awful encounter” with a council staff member who she claims became aggressive over some horse poo.
Ganantchian - whose main mode of transport is horseback - plans to lodge a formal complaint with the Far North District Council’s commercial arm, Far North Holdings [FNH], after claiming a staff member “made contact” with her.
Far North Holdings has confirmed there was a “verbal disagreement” between a staffer and Ganantchian but disputes allegations of a physical altercation.
The staff member’s behaviour is even more intriguing as there hasn’t been a council bylaw in place covering horses or horse droppings since it lapsed in 2019.
Ganantchian rode her horse to the Waitangi Wharf to visit some friends on Tuesday last week, when the incident unfolded in front of some American passengers from a nearby cruise ship.
Ganantchian rode over and asked the man what the problem was, and he “aggressively” told her to pick up her horse droppings from under the tree, she said.
“When he ran after me and yelled, I turned around and went to pick it up.
“I was going to bury it under bark at the base and that’s when he became very aggressive.
“What seemed to have triggered the abuse was when I said if he was concerned about pollution, he should ask every car driver to clean up their exhaust fumes.
“He got right up in my face and... I said ‘don’t touch me’ and he backed off.
“He made contact, he was that close.”
Ganantchian said two American tourists standing nearby tried to calm things down.
They offered her a plastic bag, and she put the droppings in her saddle bags.
She said she plans to lodge a complaint.
“The absurdity of worrying about a little bit of horse manure when we are surrounded by millions of cars spewing toxic pollution into the atmosphere.”
Claire Ganantchian is an advocate of living in tune with the environment to achieve her goal of living without using any fossil fuels.
In a statement, FNH chief executive Andy Nock said: “Far North Holdings Ltd can confirm there were was a verbal disagreement between one of its staff members and Ms Ganantchian regarding the removal of horse manure from a public space, however, there was no physical altercation.
“Far North Holdings Ltd takes any complaint made against its staff and/or organisation extremely seriously.”
A Far North District Council spokesman said the council didn’t have a bylaw specifically covering horses or horse droppings.
“On the rare occasions we have received complaints about horse droppings... the approach has been to talk to the owner and educate them about clearing the droppings or considering a droppings bag.”
Last May, the council moved to develop a new bylaw to regulate the control of animals in the district, including bees, poultry, pigs and other domestic animals.
The spokesman said that is scheduled to happen this year.
The French-born horsewoman, who farms 40 hectares at Haruru, has long been an advocate of living in tune with the environment to achieve her goal of living without using any fossil fuels.
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, roading, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.
