Greenpeace Vandals Target Gore's Trout Statue

The iconic brown trout statue in Gore has been defaced in a protest led by Greenpeace, drawing sharp criticism from Federated Farmers and sparking fresh debate over water quality and environmental activism.

On Tuesday night, Greenpeace added cartoon-style crosses over the statue’s eyes and altered the nearby welcome sign to read, “Welcome to Gore – where dirty dairy wrecked the water.” The move, according to the group, was intended to draw attention to the region’s ongoing water contamination issues caused by nitrate pollution.

The protest follows a “do not drink” notice issued last Friday after high levels of nitrate were detected in Gore’s water supply. That notice was lifted on Monday evening, but Greenpeace says the issue remains unresolved.

Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe said the statue had become “a beacon of the industry’s pollution of drinking water” and warned that nitrate levels had worsened since Greenpeace began offering free nitrate testing to Gore residents two years ago.

“This problem isn't going to go away simply by diluting the water – for many rural communities, nitrate contamination will get worse unless action is taken to address the source of the pollution: the intensive dairy industry,” Appelbe said.

The organisation also criticised the government’s proposed changes to freshwater management, claiming they would weaken environmental protections and worsen the problem.

In response, Federated Farmers condemned the act as “vandalism” and described Greenpeace as “extreme.” They said the stunt was an attempt to divide rural communities and spread “anti-farm propaganda.”

Southland Federated Farmers president Jason Herrick said it was “a total abuse of charitable status” and accused Greenpeace of acting in secrecy.

“These activists are total cowards who are slinking around in the shadows vandalising property under the cover of darkness,” he said. “There’s a reason they’ve done this at night. They knew it was dodgy behaviour – and that they’d never get away with it in Gore during daylight hours.”

Federated Farmers had already lodged a complaint with Charities Services in April, calling for Greenpeace to be stripped of its charitable status. The group has now asked that the existing complaint be dealt with “decisively.”

Police confirmed that no permanent damage was done and that protest signage had been removed. They said no further action would be taken.