‘Dirty dairying’ convictions reach new low

THE number of dairy farms being convicted for ‘‘dirty dairying’’ is well down on previous years.

Fish & Game says that is because councils are not monitoring the industry consistently. Federated Farmers says it is because dairy farmers are doing a better job of looking after the environment.

Figures obtained under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act from the 17 regional councils or unitary authorities reveal there were 14 successful prosecutions in the year to July 1, resulting in fines of $674,792.

That is the lowest number of convictions in recent years, and is less than a third of the 49 successful prosecutions undertaken in 2009-10. There were 21 successful prosecutions in 2013-14.

The number of abatement notices and infringements issued also dropped in the latest year, from 303 to 289 and 253 to 183 respectively. This is a significant decrease from the 2009-10 year, when there were 445 abatement notices and 394 infringement notices.

Northland and Taranaki continued to have the highest number of abatement and infringement notices, at 190 and 150 respectively, while Otago had the highest number of prosecutions, at five.

There was a big fall in notices issued in Waikato, from 53 to five.

Fish & Game chief executive Bryce Johnson said the figures did not necessarily reflect an improvement in farmer behaviour.

Federated Farmers dairy spokesman Andrew Hoggard said the results showed the estimated $1 billion farmers spent on protecting the environment over the past five years was having an effect.

Seven councils give farmers no notice before staff make an inspection. Those in Waikato, Tasman, Auckland and West Coast give farmers 24-48 hours’ warning. Horizons and Gisborne give farmers up to a week’s notice.

Hawke’s Bay gives up warning.

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