The Otago Regional Council says it is unable to shed any light on a recent spate of dead cows washing up on Dunedin beaches.
As many as five dead cattle have apparently been found on city beaches, leaving residents scratching their heads as to where they come from.
Senior Sergeant Brian Benn, of Dunedin, said police had been advised by locals that as many as three dead cattle were seen washed up at St Clair Beach on Saturday.
Police could confirm one carcass was found there and had been removed by a contractor, apparently for the Dunedin City Council, before police arrived.
In a statement today, the ORC said its pollution hotline received a call at the weekend concerning a dead cow which had washed up below the high water tide mark on St Clair Beach.
The ORC said it engaged a contractor to remove and dispose of the carcass. It said it also received a call last week about a dead cow at Tomahawk Beach, but upon investigation the carcass was no longer visible.
ORC director environmental monitoring and operations Scott MacLean said the council had no knowledge of the likely origin of the animals, or their cause of death.
The ODT was recently contacted by a city resident who drew attention to two earlier finds of dead cattle on other nearby beaches over the previous fortnight.
He raised the possibility that the cattle could have fallen from cliffs in the area and said he had contacted the ORC seeking more information.
Asked about those earlier finds, horse trainer and farmer Paul Bain, who lives near Tomahawk Beach, said one dead cattle beast had been found at St Kilda Beach, close to Lawyers Head, and this had been removed by contractors with a vehicle which had been driven on to the beach.
Another beast had been found about halfway along Tomahawk Beach and had been buried there by a three-tonne mechanical digger.
Mr Bain noted there had been flooding in the Taieri area in recent weeks, and said it was "very likely" that the higher-than-usual water level had "picked them up and taken them out", washing the cattle downriver and later depositing them on the beaches.
