NZ Post gets serious over dung-mailing campaign

New Zealand Post is treating a campaign by farmers to mail manure to MPs "as seriously as cyanide".

The Raise A Stink campaign launched by farming newspaper Rural News encouraged readers angry at plans for a "flatulence tax" to post parcels of dung to Parliament.

Several of the parcels were delivered to Parliament last week, says NZ Post spokesman Ian Long.

NZ Post did not know who had sent the parcels or whom they were addressed to, he said.

But some parcels were intercepted at the Palmerston North mail sorting centre on Thursday, sparking an alert. More arrived on Friday.

Police were now investigating.

"Our main concern is for the health and safety of our people," Mr Long said.

The Health Ministry has warned NZ Post that old faeces could pass on diseases to handlers.

"We're treating this as seriously as cyanide," Mr Long said.

Sending faeces through the post was illegal. "The police have told us that they will prosecute if they can prove wrongdoing."

NZ Post has issued revised safety guidelines to sorting staff, who now wear protective gloves and have been told to put suspect parcels into bags.

Rural News reported this month that government officials said they were likely to take legal action against the paper over the campaign.

The campaign is a response to farmers' frustrations at Government plans for a compulsory levy to pay for research into lowering methane and nitrous oxide emissions from pastoral farms.

- NZPA