Boaties harass pod of orca
The Department of Conservation is seeking the identities of a paddle boarder and about seven people on board two boats in Ngawai Bay, near Helena Bay on January 4, after drone footage posted to Facebook showed the vessels in close proximity of a pod of orca.
The boats traveled between the pod - made up of four orca, including a calf - at speed, following them, and at several points going over the top of one.
It is a breach under the New Zealand Marine Mammal Regulations to harass orca whales by obstructing the path of the pod or individual and to go within 50 metres of them at a speed of more than five knots.
Anyone with information should phone 0800 DOC HOT (362 468).
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⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️