A 2023 decision to continue allowing vehicles on beaches in the Catlins will be revisited after a "disgusting" incident involving motorists harassing an endangered sea lion over a two-day period.
However, any clampdown - if it happens - is still a long way off, with Clutha District councillors voting to delay the beach-ban rethink until after local elections in October this year.
"It's just another disgusting incident and I'm sick of it. The attitude of a tiny, tiny minority of people has got to change. We've had a gutsful, quite frankly. They are our taonga, we've got a responsibility to protect them," he said.
A ranger's report obtained by RNZ stated a group of motorists were seen in January at Tautuku, in the Catlins, provoking a sea lion for two successive days.
A ute was repeatedly driven at the sea lion, the driver using the clutch and brakes to "lunge" towards the animal and provoke it into responding.
At the same time trail bike riders were seen driving in circles around the animal.
According to the report, by the time rangers arrived the group had left and the sea lion was dead.
However, RNZ understands a necroscopy found the animal died of other causes, most likely from injuries inflicted by another sea lion.
The report went on to list other instances this summer of "hooning" and "doughnuts" on Tautuku Bay, even as the sea lion's carcass lay nearby; dirt bikes driving through sea lion nesting areas at Cannibal Bay; and an "ATV racing at great speed" on the beach near Wangaloa.
Vehicles had also been busted driving through dunes - one of the only activities banned under the current bylaw - at Kākā Point.
Locals told RNZ Tautuku Bay in particular was "used as a race track" but there were also serious concerns about driver behaviour at Cannibal Bay, a popular haul-out site for sea lions.
In 2023 a heavily watered-down Vehicles on Beaches bylaw came into force in the Clutha District.
The original proposal included a 30kmh speed limit and banning vehicles altogether from eight beaches, mostly in the wildlife hotspot of the Catlins.
However, the proposal sparked a social media uproar and strong pushback at consultation meetings, with the speed limit and beach bans removed from the final version.
The current bylaw only prohibits vehicles from sand dunes, except to access the beach; and above the high-water mark, except in emergencies.
It also requires people driving on beaches to "do so in a way that does not threaten the safety of people, plants or native animals".
Cadogan said the 2023 consultation process was "distorted by Facebook fantasisers", who "turned up the volume" at one end of the debate.
Councillors were repeatedly told that motorists would never mistreat wildlife, and that people had a right to drive on beaches.
"Yes, we do have a right to go on the beach. But if you want to go on the beach and be a galoot, it's about time you got pulled into line. So it really frustrated me to see the distortion that came through from the Facebook carry-on."
Cadogan said the 2023 decision weighed on his conscience, and was now not something he could undo because he was retiring at the upcoming election.
In response to the January incident, Clutha District councillors revisited the Vehicles on Beaches bylaw at their 20 February meeting.
They voted 8 to 6 to reconsider whether driving should be banned on certain beaches, but not until after the 2025 local elections.
Cadogan said the delay was frustrating but due to the huge workload and financial pressure the council was facing, with consultation on Local Water Done Well and the Annual Plan coinciding with the run-up to an election.
Meanwhile, DOC Murihiku operations manager John McCarroll said the harassment of the sea lion on Tautuku Beach was being taken "very seriously".
McCarroll said there was no evidence the dead sea lion had been run over, or was the same one that had been harassed.
"Sea lions are a threatened species, and we are so lucky to have a recovering population in the Catlins. It is deeply concerning that this taonga continues to be targeted for harm in the Catlins," he said.
"In recent years sea lions in the Catlins have suffered at the hands of people shooting, stabbing and harassing them. It is unacceptable that this taonga is not safe in its own community."
McCarroll urged anyone who saw a sea lion being mistreated to record vehicle details and take photos of any injuries to the animal - but only if it was safe to do so.
Any such incidents should also be reported immediately by calling the 24-hour hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 36 24 68).
Clutha District Council chef executive Jules Witt said the organisation employed one full-time ranger, and a second during the summer months, to monitor the council's Freedom Camping and Vehicles on Beaches bylaws.
He said breaches could be dealt with by education, warnings, 24-hour beach bans, and fines.
The council's guidelines around native wildlife included:
- A recommended safe viewing distance of at least 20 metres.
- Dogs must be on a lead when wildlife is present and remain 20 metres away.
- All vehicles must be at least 50 metres away from wildlife.
Only about 12,000 New Zealand sea lions remain, making then the world's rarest, and most endangered, sea lion species.
