Oamaru residents 'disgusted' by anti-1080 vandalism to town's welcome sign

September 24, 2018

Oamaru's welcome sign has been vandalised with an anti-1080 slogan.

Photos posted to Facebook show the stone monument with the words "f*ck 1080" written in graffiti.

It's not known when the sign was damaged.

Gary Kircher, spokesman for the Waitaki District Council, told 1 NEWS the vandalism "crossed the line".

"Action was taken as quickly as possible to clean off the mess, and unfortunately, our ratepayers have to foot the bill for this wanton vandalism," he said.

He said the phones had been ringing "off the hook" with residents "disgusted" by the vandalism.

Mr Kircher said "to have this damage done to our welcome sign beggars belief!"

The sign was erected around 18 years ago at the southern end of Oamaru on State Highway 1

The vandalism is off the back of a recent spike in anti-1080 protests.

Just two weeks ago anti-1080 activists put dead birds, including kererū and weka on the steps of Parliament, claiming they were poisoned by the toxin.

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