A council in the far North is investigating the deliberate poisoning of four beachside pōhutukawa trees.
Residents at Opito Bay, near Kerikeri, noticed parts of the trees were dying, and when they investigated further, found holes had been drilled into the roots of the trees so poison could be poured in.
- Seven pōhutukawa turning brown on Auckland's North Shore
- Now Aussies are claiming the pōhutukawa
- Last-minute save for Auckland pohutukawas
"To have just a beautiful array of trees poisoned deliberately, it's just incompressible," said Yvonne Sharp, former Far North Mayor, whose grandfather planted the trees during the early 1970s.
"It makes me feel really sad and actually quite sick."
Under the Resource Management Act anyone who damages or cuts down a native tree without consent can be fined up to $300,000. But it's not yet known who poisoned these trees.
Aborist Ben Howell says the trees don't stand a great chance.
"We're using everything in our arsenal, including injecting them with an antioxidant to try and fight and purge the poison out of the tree," said Mr Howell.
If the trees pose a threat to public safety and need to be removed, the council said it could up to $8000.
But Ms Sharp said if they do go, they will be replaced.
"But it will take many, many years and I doubt whether I will see anything like this again," she said.
The council is asking anyone with information about the poisoning to get in touch.
Newshub.
