Poll: Should a 4WD drive ban on the Ashley Rakahuri River be extended?
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
A 4WD ban on a North Canterbury river during bird nesting season could be extended.
The Waimakariri District Council will consider a proposal from the Department of Conservation (DOC) to close the upper Ashley Rakahuri River to vehicles while birds are nesting.
Mayor Dan Gordon said he has requested staff to prepare a report for next month’s council meeting, after DOC staff addressed the council recently.
‘‘I have requested a report from staff to outline what options are available.’’
The lower Ashley River from the confluence of the Okuku River to the mouth, which is managed by Environment Canterbury, already has a vehicle ban during nesting season.
DOC manages the upper section of the river, from the confluence to the Ashley Gorge.
A DOC spokesperson said the legislation allowed it to close off the upper section completely to all users.
But it would prefer the Waimakariri District Council ‘‘to close the river as a road from next year’’, during the nesting season.
The river is home to several braided river species with many of them endangered, including wrybills, black-bill gulls, banded dotterels, black-fronted terns and pied oystercatchers.
The upper section of the river is also home to ‘‘one of the last strongholds of native biodiversity on the Canterbury plains’’, the spokesperson said.
The Ashley Rakahuri Rivercare Group has previously expressed concerns, saying people drive around nesting sites with no regard for the welfare of threatened species of birds.
Volunteers were out in force during Crate Day last November, to protect the birds from revelers out in their 4WDs.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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90% Yes
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10% No
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62% Summer
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36.5% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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