Jeffrey Allan Wood was sentenced on Tuesday in the Whangārei District Court. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
A Northland beef farmer has been fined $30,000 after almost 400 cattle were found to suffering from a lack of food.
Jeffrey Allan Wood, of Ruawai, near Dargaville, admitted six charges under the Animal Welfare Act and was sentenced on Tuesday in the Whangārei District Court.
Inspectors for the Ministry for Primary Industries, which brought the prosecution, were alerted by a vet in 2020.
When they visited the farm they found 387 cattle in poor health due to a chronic lack of grass and supplementary feed.
MPI acting animal welfare manager Brendon Mikkelsen said Wood, 69, was an experienced farmer who knew what he needed to do to feed and provide for his animals.
"These animals were thin and fell well below meeting the standard of the Sheep and Beef Cattle Code of Welfare," he said.
Following the initial visit, inspectors returned to the Ruawai farm a number of times until October 2020.
A total of 840 animals were examined, Mikkelsen said.
Some animals were affected by bad diarrhoea and emaciated. In one case, when Wood was directed to euthanise a severely lame young bull to end its suffering, MPI found it still had not been done a week later.
Wood claimed that was because he could not find the animal.
"These animals were suffering, and Mr Wood's delayed action prolonged their suffering. He failed to meet the physical, health and behavioural needs of these animals. When we find evidence that animal welfare has been neglected, if appropriate, we will place the matter before the court," Mikkelsen said.
As well as the fine, Wood was ordered to pay $2834.80 in veterinarian expenses and $6057.97 in farmer consultant fees.
Mikkelsen encouraged anyone aware of animal ill-treatment or cruelty to report it to the MPI animal welfare complaints freephone 0800 00 83 33.
