Terrified animals and fires no cause to celebrate
Heartfelt condolences to all at Leg-Up Trust for the loss of a therapy horse.
As a volunteer at Hastings Riding for the Disabled I know how hard it is to find the truly special ones.
Hastings RDA is hugely grateful to locals who host the therapy horses off-site so they miss the worst of the ongoing barrage that is Guy Fawkes.
Ten years ago we were able to sedate [at a cost to the charity] our most nervous ponies and stay onsite to watch for problems. Then fireworks got bigger and louder and that is no longer enough.
Now the charity has to pay a transporter to move the ponies offsite on the day fireworks go on sale and back on November 6, money it can ill afford.
The other downside of this is some of our riders miss their therapy riding sessions as well, and this is very sad for our young riders who look forward to their riding each week.
Fireworks can be stunningly beautiful in the right place at the right time. Frightening animals and keeping small children awake, setting fire to our lovely Te Mata Peak and setting fire to families’ hedges is not a celebration of anything, let alone the saving of the British Parliament. Let’s just have public displays to celebrate something uniquely New Zealand such as Matariki.
Ruth Holmes Havelock North
Council efforts Roy Holderness’ Letter to the Editor ( Hawke’s
Bay Today, November 6) stated “the existence of the regional council is becoming more and more irrelevant”.
Is cleaning up the region’s lakes and rivers irrelevant when water quality is getting worse at more monitored sites than it is getting better?
How about protecting the Heretaunga Aquifer from overuse, when we are at sustainable limits?
Or increasing flood protection and ensuring we are prepared for civil defence emergencies in the face of climate change? Or protecting farms and forests from pests and working towards a Predator Free Hawke’s Bay when our indigenous biodiversity is in serious decline?
Or regulating forestry slash and erosion with a “wall of wood” being harvested?
Or cleaning up stormwater discharges into the Ahuriri Estuary? How about planning our regional transport networks to reduce congestion and provide public transport with rising fuel costs?
These are just a snapshot of what your regional council does to ensure Hawke’s Bay has a healthy environment, a vibrant community and a prosperous economy.
James Palmer Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chief executive