When it comes to having a laugh about life, there are few nations as brilliant as New Zealand. Whether it is their cops or people taking the piss out of their politicians and cops, they sure know how how to make something viral. A seemingly innocuous NZ reddit post shows a torn up garden and affixes this comment below:  

'You guys talking to much have brought attention to my little grow. I was had a late season crop of cabbages, a few broccoli, a few cauliflower all hidden away by fences in my backyard. Admittedly it would have been measured in pounds rather than ounces, I got greedy.

Well well, loose lips sink ships. A few members of the Dept. of Agriculture showed up and ripped it all out. They practically goose stepped in with jack boots. This is what I was left with. I was barred from my own property while they did their work, and now I have a cease and desist letter and a hefty fine.

The letter states if I concrete this area to prevent further illegal activity, the fine will be halved to a more reasonable $700. Silver lining is I will have a nice BBQ area. Black market gardening just isn't worth the risk with this being at the forefront of everyones minds! FTP !'

The responses are golden. 

Perhaps too trusting of people from one of the most stunning countries on earth, the rest of the world read with disbelief what is not to be believed. 

Even other Reddit New Zealand posts are getting in on it. Another subreddit has this OP: 

'My friend told me he heard that you can't have a garden in New Zealand. That it is illegal to have it. I'm not sure if this is true. I googled about it, but got no founds. Could you guys please tell me? And please no hate I know this question might be insulting to some of you.'

The posters calmly go on with it:

Even seemingly reputable pop media sites have jumped on board. The article writes 'the internet rediscovered New Zealand’s longstanding ban on personal gardens, and it collectively lost its mind. Joshua Drummond argues that the ban has had its day.' I guess all that can be done is to bow to our piss-taking masters across the ditch.