It has cost ratepayers more than $1000 to remove items used to deface Rakaia’s giant salmon statue.
Last week Greenpeace activists protested the dairy industry by attaching the cardboard items of a cartoon dead eye and speech bubble, using extendable metal poles.
The speech bubble fell off, while district council contractors removed the remaining eye and doublesided tape six days later on Saturday.
Group manager of community and open spaces Toni Durham said the invoice from the contractor was for $998 plus GST.
‘‘It has been coded as vandalism and ratepayers will fund it,’’ Durham said.
‘‘We’re waiting on the outcome of the police investigation before considering how we can recoup our costs.’’
Durham said there had also been staff time taken up, digging out and reinstalling bollards to allow access for the contractor.
She said the district council was awaiting photos of the salmon from the contractor, expecting these to confirm the activists had not inadvertently caused any damage.
The contractor used specialist machinery of an elevated platform with knuckle boom.
‘‘We didn’t want to use a metal pole because it could have scratched the statue; we also needed to see if any damage had been caused to the surface.’’
She said the reason the items were not removed sooner was because the contractor’s specialist machinery was in Banks Peninsula.
It was trapped by recent rain event, and subsequent slips, she said.
Meanwhile, Federated Farmers has defended the dairy industry, saying there are multiple reasons for salmon declining in rivers.
‘‘It’s been an ongoing issue for years. You can’t just lay it on one thing – it’s not just agriculture,’’ Mid Canterbury president David Acland told Stuff.
