Plea to pick up manure pooh-poohed by mayor

Adrian Garrett. Photo / Northern Advocate

The good people of Kerikeri like their town to be known for the delicate fragrances of the oranges in the orchards, the grapes in the vineyards and the sea salt on the breeze.

Not horse manure.

So one resident - Charlie Smellie - has decided enough is enough. He is sick of having to see and smell horse manure while he enjoys a coffee on the main street.

He particularly objected to the large Clydesdales that occasionally make their way up and down the main street.

Smellie took his olfactory protest to the Far North District Council, demanding it pass a bylaw ordering horse owners to clean up their animals' mess.

But the idea was promptly pooh-poohed by the mayor Wayne Brown. He bemoaned the fact that while the North Shore City Council was arguing about its peeing mayor, the Northland District Council had to argue about pooing horses.

"We went through this crazy process," Brown said.

"I am not allowed to say 'that's daft, clear off mate'. I don't think there was a single person in the room who was going to ban horses from the town."

Clydesdale owner Adrian Garrett said he liked to walk the horses through the town to keep them used to noise and traffic. Pooing is "what horses do".

"It may happen when they're in the country, it may happen while they're in town. It doesn't stop people crossing the road - they don't have to go and put their nose in it."

Garrett, who owns three Clydesdales and 12 shire horses, said the bylaw could have stopped anyone riding a horse in a public place.

Chris Rogers, owner of local cafe S'Wich, said the horses brought character to the town - but at a cost.

"The horse crap all over the street is not so good, it kind of gets tramped all over the place."

Kate Hewlett, of Kate's Riding Centre in Kerikeri, said it was not practical or safe for a rider to dismount and clear up after their horse.

Smellie was angry the bylaw was drafted to include the term "public place" when he only wanted poo picked up from the centre of Kerikeri.

He believes someone will get hurt because of horse manure - a car driving through a fresh pile of horse manure may not be able to brake in time if a pedestrian stepped out in front of it, he said.

Smellie plans to re-submit his bylaw later this year.