Call to stop chicken factory

A Dargaville group opposing the building of New Zealand’s biggest ever broiler chicken factory is making a desperate attempt to raise $60,000 to hire experts to represent them at the upcoming resource consent hearings. Tegel Foods is seeking resource consent to farm nine million chickens a year on former dairying land at Arapohue near Dargaville. Only 17 of the nearly 5000 submissions lodged with Northland Regional Council and Kaipara District Council are in support of the proposed broiler chicken farm. Rosie Donovan, of the Kaipara Community Association, says the money will help pay for a lawyer, planner and two expert witnesses to support them at the hearings in August.