The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Anger, health fears after pony buried in backyard

By John Lewis
Otago Daily Times·
1 Dec, 2017 11:19 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

One of the pony's legs pokes out of the grave in the backyard of a Sydney St property. Photo / Gregor Richardson

One of the pony's legs pokes out of the grave in the backyard of a Sydney St property. Photo / Gregor Richardson

A Caversham resident is horrified after discovering her neighbour's pony has died and been buried in the backyard.

The woman, who declined to be named, said the animal had been living in the narrow backyard of a Sydney St address for quite some time.

It was alive earlier this week, but she came home on Thursday after work and found it lying dead on the neighbour's back lawn, reports Otago Daily Times.

She witnessed five people digging a shallow grave in the neighbour's backyard (within a couple of metres of the house) on Thursday night, and by yesterday morning it was buried.

However, she was now concerned it was a health hazard for neighbours, given the hot weather Dunedin was experiencing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The woman said that the carcass was beginning to bloat and last night one of its legs had popped out of the ground.

''You know what the weather's going to be like for the next two or three days.

''I don't want that smell.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

''And it's a health hazard.''

She said the owners of the property were not home and she was angry that no-one wanted to do anything about it.

She called the Dunedin City Council and was told ''they don't want to do anything about it''.

Police said it was a council matter and declined to investigate.

An Otago Regional Council spokeswoman said it was not illegal to bury animals on private property.

''If it were in a waterway or a body of water, we might have jurisdiction in terms of our role. We would ask the owner to remove it.

''But because it's on land, it's not really something we can do anything about.''

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

Premium
Opinion

Thomas Coughlan: Govt mulls dramatic local government reform, slashing councils

04 Jul 05:00 PM
The Country

‘Huge growth potential’: Willis on wool challenges during visit to NZ’s biggest scourer

04 Jul 05:00 PM
The Country

'Sassy' success: Climate-resilient apple's exports set to double

04 Jul 05:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Premium
Thomas Coughlan: Govt mulls dramatic local government reform, slashing councils

Thomas Coughlan: Govt mulls dramatic local government reform, slashing councils

04 Jul 05:00 PM

News of merging ministries was just the tip of the iceberg.

‘Huge growth potential’: Willis on wool challenges during visit to NZ’s biggest scourer

‘Huge growth potential’: Willis on wool challenges during visit to NZ’s biggest scourer

04 Jul 05:00 PM
'Sassy' success: Climate-resilient apple's exports set to double

'Sassy' success: Climate-resilient apple's exports set to double

04 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Ex-TV host Matt Chisholm's bold new career; 'Hugely unpopular' - battle royale brews inside Stuff

Ex-TV host Matt Chisholm's bold new career; 'Hugely unpopular' - battle royale brews inside Stuff

04 Jul 10:13 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP