Poor practices lead to Selwyn Waihora cattle farm prosecution

Most Canterbury farmers put considerable time, money and effort into protecting waterways on and downstream of their properties. The few that don’t, can be prosecuted under the Resource Management Act. 

On 10 May 2024, a Selwyn cattle farmer pleaded guilty and was convicted of two offences in breach of the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan and the Resource Management Act: 

• Allowing stock unrestricted access to the bed and banks of a waterway within the Selwyn Waihora subregion resulting in pugging and de-vegetation that exposed bare earth and the bed and banks of the waterway. 
• Discharging a contaminant, being dairy effluent, onto land which may have resulted in that contaminant entering water.  

Stock given unrestricted access to waterways 

On a visit to the property, a resource management officer found that approximately 60 cattle had unrestricted access to drains. The areas around the drains were heavily damaged by pugging and had been de-vegetated to the point of bare earth. Water, mud and animal effluent were visible in the drains. 

Gillian Jenkins, Zone Delivery Lead for Selwyn Waihora said that prior to this event we had issued 11 notifications and three abatement notices relating to stock in waterways to this operator. 

“Our land managers work closely with farmers in our region to ensure that drains on their property are adequately fenced – and most go to a lot of expense to see that this is done because they understand the flow on effects for waterways downstream. 

“When this doesn’t happen, despite multiple warnings, we take action to protect Canterbury’s water.” 

Downstream of this property is the Ararira/LII River, a tributary of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere – a precious ecological and cultural site used for a variety of recreational activities. 

Protecting aquatic wildlife from sediment contamination

Suspended sediment can have serious impacts on aquatic wildlife when allowed to flow downstream. It can smother stony streambed habitats where aquatic plants, invertebrates and fish forage, breed and take refuge. 

“The watercourses downstream of this property have high amounts of sediment deposited on the streambed. This causes significant risks for their ecosystems which support the critical habitats of kākahi/freshwater mussels, and are potential inanga spawning areas,” said Ms Jenkins.  

There are also records of shortfin and longfin eels, upland and common bully, and brown trout in the catchment. Longfin eel, inanga and kākahi are all threatened species with a threat status of ‘at risk - declining’.  

Fencing waterways prevents stock from eroding and churning up the banks and streambeds – a major cause of sediment deposits on farm. It also helps reduce the nutrient load flowing downstream. 

A successful prosecution 

The defendant was sentenced to 55 hours of community service and ordered to pay court costs. 

The Court’s decision considered the moderate seriousness of the offending given the scale of the operation, recent moves towards compliance, and the general and cumulative effects on the environment rather than specific. It also considered the deliberate and ongoing nature of the offending and the degraded state of the receiving environment. 

“We are pleased to see that action has finally been taken by the farmer to address this issue and stop environmental harm. It is unfortunate that, despite numerous attempts, it took going to court to get the changes needed,” Ms Jenkins said.