Turf war: Sheep vs forestry

(Image: Getty)

Fri, 06 Jun 2025

There’s trouble down on the farm with a turf war heating up between two of New Zealand’s larger export sectors – sheep and forestry. In the latest iteration of its “Save our Sheep” campaign, Federated Farmers has released a pseudo David Attenborough video that shamelessly likens sheep to an endangered species, focusing the blame on exotic forestry. You would have to laugh if it wasn’t serious.Sheep numbers have declined dramatically since 1990 – by about 60%.However, the facts do not align with the...

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