Cows’ burial spot could result in prosecution
Iwi and Heritage NZ say hole ran risk of damaging archaeological site on Motutapu
An investigation into claims 49 cows were buried in a hole dug at Motutapu Island without consulting iwi or Heritage New Zealand — potentially damaging an archaeological site — could lead to criminal prosecution.
Nga¯i Tai ki Ta¯maki Tribal Trust alleges the cows died on Boxing Day last year after battling 26C heat and a large hole was dug for them to be buried at an archaeological site.
But the Department of Conservation has rejected the claims, saying the cows died from eating fruit from sycamore trees and were accidentally buried on a corner of an archaeological site, which was identified only during the Heritage NZ (HNZ) inquiry.
HNZ, at the request of Nga¯i Tai, started investigating the deaths and, according to the trust, confirmed to both the trust and DoC in May that the allegations were correct.
“HNZ confirmed a hole had been dug to accommodate the burial of 49 dead cows and that there seemed to be some damage to a midden site within the burial. There was no legal or formal application to HNZ,” trust chairman James Brown said.
“Nga¯i Tai have now waited six weeks since meeting HNZ and the department, without being any closer to understanding what happened.”
Brown said HNZ told the trust at the end of June it was still waiting on information from farm manager Motutapu Farms and DoC, which owns and manages the island.
“Unfortunately HNZ has not set clear timeframes or conditions around the information requested.”
HNZ acting mid-Northern area manager Ben Pick confirmed it was investigating claims of damage to an archaeological site on Motutapu due to the burial of animals.
Pick said HNZ took allegations very seriously and any damage by a person who knew or suspected it was an archaeological site was an offence under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014.
He could not confirm when the report would be completed because HNZ needed to ensure it was a detailed and comprehensive investigation given that unauthorised damage was a criminal matter.
DoC Auckland Inner Islands operations manager Keith Gell said a vet had established the cows died from eating fruit from sycamore trees, not from heat as Nga¯i Tai alleged.
Gell said the farmer followed procedure and consulted a map showing known archaeological sites on Motutapu before burying the cows. However, he had been unaware the spot he chose had a midden hidden underground DoC, which owns and manages Motutapu Island, says the cows died from eating fruit from sycamore trees.
HNZ confirmed a hole had been dug to accommodate the burial of 49 dead cows and that there seemed to be some damage to a midden site. James Brown, Nga¯i Tai trust chairman
as it was not identified on the map. Middens contains shells and other food refuse left by early Ma¯ori.
“This slight accidental disturbance of the corner of the midden was discovered by HNZ,” Gell said.
But Brown said that Nga¯i Tai had struggled to get answers from DoC for almost seven months.
He said that the public had the
right to know what was happening.
Nga¯i Tai has also asked HNZ to investigate if large plantings of native trees on the island had the appropriate approvals. HNZ said other activities on the island were not part of this investigation.
The Ministry for Primary Industries has just learned of the deaths and is also investigating.