Pigs run riot in Stoke cemetery
Pigs are running wild in nighttime raids at a Nelson cemetery, uprooting the grass around the graves.
A group of wild pigs has been entering the Marsden Valley Cemetery in Stoke several times a week, digging up the grass around a number of grave sites.
Nelson man John Coombs was surprised to find the ground uprooted and bits of lawn tossed about when he visited his wife’s grave at the cemetery last weekend.
‘‘I just couldn’t make out what it was, and there was another person up there and he said to me, ‘Wild pigs’. Goodness me, they really cut it up.’’
Coombs’ wife died 13 years ago, and he said it was the first time he had seen a ‘‘porcine invasion’’ at the cemetery.
He said the other man told him that pigs weren’t the only problem – deer and rabbits were also an issue.
‘‘It is a concern when you see the amount of damage that they did. I started doing a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, putting pieces of the turf back together, but I thought, ‘This is just going to go on and on’,’’ Combs said.
He said a fence seemed to be the only solution to keep the pigs out.
When The Nelson Mail visited the cemetery on Wednesday, the damaged areas were visible but had been patched up, and contractors were mowing the grass.
Nelson City Council group manager community services Andrew White said that once the council was alerted to the issue, cameras were installed at the cemetery to work out what was causing the damage.
He said it appeared that three pigs were visiting the cemetery every couple of days, around midnight.
No plaques had been damaged, but the pigs had dug up the ground near a number of grave sites.
White said the council was aware of a few deer in the cemetery in recent years, and pigs had caused minor damage last year.
He said the council was made aware of the issue a couple of weeks ago, and it was being treated with urgency.
Last week a temporary fence was put up around the natural burial area, which had been successful in keeping the pigs out. A turf specialist had repaired the damaged ground, and an extra layer of soil would be put down if necessary.
White said $80,000 had been allocated in the council’s draft Long Term Plan to build a onekilometre fence along the lower side of the cemetery hill, which runs parallel to Poormans Stream, to keep pigs and deer out of the area. It was hoped that the work could be completed by the end of June.
‘‘This pest problem . . . from pigs to rabbits, has been going on for a long, long time.’’ Francis Day, funeral director
‘‘We are very conscious of the importance of these graves to family, friends and wha¯ nau, as well as the importance of the area to local residents.’’
White said that in 2018, pest animal culling was approved in the Marsden Valley area, but a method was not specified.
A petition from residents living close to the cemetery asked the council to consider ways the deer could continue to live alongside residents instead of being removed. It was signed by 109 people.
‘‘The council is currently taking a very cautious approach to culling in that area, as it is residential and there is a related risk to safety.’’
In a submission to the draft Long Term Plan on Wednesday,
Marsden House Funeral Services director Francis Day said the council had a ‘‘very woeful record’’ of looking after its cemeteries.
He said rabbits burrowing near recently dug graves had been an issue in the past.
‘‘This pest problem at Marsden Cemetery, from pigs to rabbits, has been going on for a long, long time.’’
Day said the cemetery was established before there were any residents in the valley. If culling the pigs was not an option, trapping and relocating them was.
‘‘I think we owe it to the people who are there, people who have paid a lot of money to purchase a plot ... they at least deserve the respect to have the place they rest kept nicely and left in dignity.’’