Letters to the Editor: animal ethics, mining, inclusion

Benedict Ong. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY

Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including animal ethics, mining and welcoming different perspectives.

Stop depressing slide on animal ethics issues

Recent government initiatives to lower industry standards will stifle innovation in New Zealand’s animal protein industries and worsen our already relatively low economic productivity, dominated by those industries.

Lifting productivity means producing better products, at lower economic cost. But weakening animal ethics standards, such as in the pig (continued tolerance of farrowing crates) and sheep (resumption of live exports) protein industries means worse products, at higher economic cost.

The same goes for the amateurish policy initiative to lower industry methane targets for 2050, against all reputable scientific and professional advice.

Increasing productivity requires retaining earnings and reinvesting in research and development and physical and intellectual capital, working toward higher standards, better quality products, better working conditions, at lower cost to our beautiful animals and environment.

But these kinds of initiatives say: don’t bother retaining earnings for investment, innovating or changing. Forget about tomorrow, we (or at least, a lucky few) can continue to live well, simply by lowering environmental and ethical standards, and workers’ pay and conditions.

This ideology is championed by manipulative well-funded individuals and lobby groups, adept at populist social media amplification, and difficult to defeat politically.

But so far at least, buying product from New Zealand’s increasingly shoddy animal protein production system is not compulsory (though we may only be an executive order or two away from that).

It may be up to global consumers to nudge the depressing slide in quality of our animal production systems, by buying from somebody else, closer to where they live.

Alan McCulloch
Dunedin

The answer is...

To answer Ian Begg’s question (Letters 11.10.25) whether the “Santana Diggings” would become an iconic place in the mining history in another 150 years, the answer would be no.

The thing is, back in the 1860s and into the 20th century there was no protection from mining. It was given free rein, encouraged by local authorities and government.

But we know better today don’t we? That’s why we now have protection of our outstanding landscape to prevent further harm, especially from the gigantic scale of modern mining that’s being planned by Santana.

Louise Joyce
Earnscleugh

Flat statement

In today’s ODT (17.10.25) there is an article: ‘‘OceanaGold asks for more time.’’ It is under a Macraes headline but that is incorrect.

Gold mining within the township named Macraes in its 1876 survey that has remained this way finished almost a century ago. The more recent mining OceanaGold intends to continue is located at or near Macraes Flat so the article should accurately name the area.

The Coronation mine on Taieri Ridge is mostly in Dunedin City Council with its closest point over 5km away in a straight line from Macraes and mining on Macraes Flat begins a kilometre from the surveyed township of Macraes.

I am aware the mining company makes this error but the ODT should get its geography right.

Neil Roy
Palmerston

Intelligent city, rich heritage, should be welcoming

Like Benedict Ong, I have also held senior positions in other markets, yet during my time working in Dunedin I often felt a quiet scepticism, as though I had somehow overestimated my own credentials. I am not entirely sure why, but from my experience, unless one has lived and worked within Dunedin’s professional circles for many years, a certain doubt about ‘‘outsiders’’ seems to come with the territory.

It is an unspoken hierarchy that can often make it difficult for new perspectives or diverse professional experiences to be fully valued. Dunedin has so much potential: it would only benefit from being more open to experience from elsewhere. Inclusion is not just about who lives here, but about the perspectives we are willing to welcome.

Jude Chelliah
Dunedin