Gisborne District Council reminds rural communities to keep large grazing livestock off our region’s stopbanks.

This helps maintain their effectiveness as crucial flood protection assets.

Council Community Lifelines Director Tim Barry says large stock have been seen grazing regularly on the stopbanks.

“We’re asking the wider community to please be aware that this is an issue for our region.

“Sheep are ok, but cattle, pigs or horses are definitely not for because of the damage they can cause undermining the stopbank integrity.”

Mr Barry says he appreciates most farmers have fences in place to control their stock.

“However, we’ve seen enough large stock grazing on the stopbanks that it’s worth reminding everyone that our stopbanks are among our community's most valuable assets. They protect us, our properties and livelihoods and will fail at the weakest link so we need to take care to ensure they are maintained to a high standard.

“They have an important job to do. This is why we’re reinforcing this message, please look after our stopbanks.”

If you’d like to call in any issues please either:

• Email service@gdc.govt.nz
• Phone 0800 653 800
• Or visit the GDC Fix app on any smart phone

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