Thursday, 24 October 2024 09:55

Editorial: Teaching F&G a lesson

Written by  Staff Reporters

OPINION: Irate Southland farmers are on the money denying anglers access across their land.

And social media posts show there's growing support to spread the boycott throughout the country. That's exactly what happened in 2014 with the 'Lock the Gate' campaign kicked off by Rural News.

For too long, Fish & Game has been using membership fees, collected from the public and farmers, to fund court battles to unfairly suppress farming.

It's clear that farmers strongly back the Southland Federated Farmers' call for local farmers to boycott Fish & Game and remove fishing access across their land. The call to action was sparked by a court decision which would require 3000 Southland farmers to apply for resource consent to keep farming lawfully. Southland Fish & Game and Forest & Bird have been pushing for the ruling. They've welcomed the decision, saying it would help the province's degraded rivers and waterways.

As Feds Southland president Jason Herrick says, Fish & Game has failed to reciprocate the goodwill shown by farmers in allowing anglers to walk across their land.

"We're fed up with Southland Fish & Game's persistent, belligerant anti-farming rhetoric and their opposition to everything we do. We've tried our best to maintain our relationship with them, but they've washed that relationship away down the Mataura River," Herrick says.

Farmers are being urged to take down access signs on the properties. Feds are making it clear that farmers shouldn't destroy access signs put up by F&G. Instead, the signs can be returned to Fish & Game.


 Read More


Some farmers are calling for the Feds to consider a national boycott, noting that, if successful in Southland, Fish & Game will be advocating similar regulations throughout the country.

For now, Federated Farmers Southland is appreciative of the nationwide support and is asking supporters to put orange on roadside gates to show support, wherever you are in the country.

The time has come to stop Fish & Game in its tracks. Farmers have been allowing access to anglers in good faith, only to be kicked in the guts time and again by Fish & Game.

 

 

More like this

Corporate narrative?

OPINION: Forget about the fabled 'rural-urban' divide, the real fault-line in farming might actually be the divide between grass-roots farmers and the industry corporates who claim to be 'speaking on behalf of farmers'.

Editorial: Sensible move

OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.

Dairy unity

OPINION: A last-minute compromise ensured that the election of the new Federated Farmers national dairy chair wasn't a repeat of the Super 15 rugby final - Canterbury versus Waikato.

Featured

Big return on a small investment

Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Gaslight much?

OPINION: Labour leader Chris 'Chippy' Hipkins is carrying on the world-class gaslighting of the nation that he and his cohorts…

Our own 'Clarkson'

OPINION: The huge success of former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson's new TV show, Clarkson's Farm, and the boost it…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter