A Napier man out running was shocked to see 20-30 cows in the water at the estuary in Napier about 500m from Pandora Pond.
A Napier man out running was shocked to see 20-30 cows in the water at the estuary in Napier about 500m from Pandora Pond.
A Napier man running on the lime paths in Ahuriri was “a bit shocked” to see 20-30 cows in the water, about half a kilometre from popular swim spot Pandora Pond.
David, who didn’t want his surname used, said his children used to do triathlons, but the pond had been regularly closed due to contamination in recent years.
“No wonder if that’s what happens. The pond is often deemed unsafe to swim in,” he said.
“Animals are not supposed to be in the water. I was a bit shocked, especially at how many there were.
“I’ve never seen it before. It was low tide and they were only about half a km upstream in the estuary.”
The stock belongs to Pāmu Landcorp Farming and its business manager, Jon Douglas, said it had put considerable time, resources and effort into protecting waterways on and downstream of our properties.
“We take stock exclusion responsibilities very seriously.
“We acknowledge an incident on Monday morning when there was a breakout on Ahuriri Farm,” Douglas said.
“A mob of heifers lifted a gate off its hinges in the corner of a southern paddock and made their way on to the neighbouring estuary.
Pamu Landcorp Farming business manager Jon Douglas says it has put considerable time, resources and effort into protecting waterways.
“The cattle were found during a routine stock check at around 9am. Our farm team took immediate action, with the lagoon farm manager giving them a hand to get the cattle back to the farm.
“Team members had to use kayaks as the tide was coming in and the cattle were at risk. Happily, all were recovered and are now secure in paddocks well away from the estuary.”
Douglas said in the five years he had been in the role, it was the first incident of its kind.
He said the southern paddock had been regularly used for trade cattle, but this was a new and curious herd with unknown capabilities.
“The Pāmu team has been in touch with both local iwi and the regional council and is working with them regarding obligations post-incident. The public can be assured this was an unfortunate one-off and these animals will be closely monitored.”
A spokesperson for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council said cattle in any waterway had an impact on water quality.
“But the extent will be dictated by the number of cattle and the length of time they were in the waterway, none of which we are aware of.
“We generally advise people not to swim for two to three days after heavy or prolonged rain and the same advice applies to this situation,” the spokesperson said.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
