Three companies have applied to establish massive factory farms in the Mackenzie Country, housing 18,000 dairy cows in cubicle stables.

These proposals are bad news for animal welfare, water quality, our iconic high country landscapes and our clean, green image. 

Good news!

Environment Minister Nick Smith has 'called in' the resource consent applications from three companies planning to establish large-scale factory farms in the Mackenzie Country. This means that the applications will be referred to an independent Board of Inquiry comprised of members with considerable expertise on water quality.

Read our media release here

Thanks to everyone who made a submission, sent in an e-card to the Minister, or joined social media groups opposing the consents. Together we have shown that the Government needs to show real leadership on this issue!

For more information, or to be kept updated with the campaign, email environment@greens.org.nz

What were the submissions about?

Submissions closed on December 18 for the applications by Southdown Holdings Ltd and Five Rivers Ltd, and on January 15 for the applications by Williamson Holdings Ltd. In total, Environment Canterbury recieved around 5,200 submissions on these applications!

Water quality

•    The consent applications include effluent ponds with 414 million litres of storage capacity and plans to put as much as 1.7 million litres of diluted effluent onto the land every day. This will produce the effluent equivalent to a city of 270,000 people in the Mackenzie Country

•    The majestic Upper Waitaki & important recreational lakes such as Lakes Benmore and Aviemore are at risk of contamination from effluent and nutrient runoff 

Environment

•    The Mackenzie Country is an iconic brown tussock landscape. This unique and fragile environment will be radically altered by irrigation and intensive dairying
•    The Mackenzie is important habitat for threatened plants and birds which rely on a dry tussockland habitat
•    The factory farms will be heavily reliant on supplementary feed being trucked in from elsewhere, resulting in a high carbon footprint. It is likely that feed will include palm kernel expeller (PKE); which contributes to deforestation in South East Asia

Animal health and welfare:

•    It is cruel to house cows inside without fresh air and sunlight for 8 months of the year and for 12 hours a day during summer
•    Animals confined in close quarters are at greater risk of injury and infection and are likely to need controlling with antibiotics

Tourism and international brand

•    The Mackenzie Country is a major drawcard for international tourists, and the gateway to Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park. Over 200,000 international tourists visit the National Park each year
•    New Zealand’s tradition of farming animals outside and on pasture is integral to our clean, green image and our competitive advantage. News that New Zealand dairy products come from factory farmed cows will undermine our international brand, which is unfair to the many good farmers who are farming sustainably.

For more information contact environment@greens.org.nz