A Woodville farmer has been banned from owning farm animals for two years and placed on six months’ community detention after his ‘unacceptable’ neglect of sheep led to 55 being euthanised.
The farmer, 64-year-old Noel Thomas Cunningham, was sentenced at the Palmerston North District Court yesterday after admitting to three charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
His sentence resulted from an investigation by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Animal Welfare Inspectors grew concerned about the welfare of Cunningham’s animals after finding farm infrastructure like fencing and water distribution, “particularly on the 40-hectare sheep block,” had been “lacking for some time”.
“Most of the sheep fences were not stock proof and pasture was tired and indicative of poor grazing management.”
MPI’s manager for animal welfare and NAIT compliance central, Gary Harrison, said inspectors found an open-fronted shed containing multiple sheep carcasses and “shallow graves” in an adjacent paddock.
Harrison said this indicated “a history of poor care and management of the sheep”.
“Many of the existing sheep were underweight and displayed signs of lice infestation, and some had to be euthanised to prevent further stress and suffering,” he said.
An MPI animal welfare inspector and two vets inspected 332 animals.
They found 25 recently dead sheep and several dead newborn lambs.
“Some of the sheep that died were found near water courses, stuck in mud and at various stages of decomposition,” Harrison said.
Fifty-five sheep were euthanised because they were “so thin” and affected by parasites. Ninety ewes, also described as “very thin”, were not euthanised as it would have compromised the health of their lambs.
Harrison said the needs of the remaining 179 other animals were not being met, describing the level of neglect as “unacceptable”.
“Mr Cunningham was an experienced farmer, yet we found no evidence of sheep management or routine husbandry being carried out.
“Most farmers do the right thing for their animals. Mr Cunningham failed the basics – providing quality feed and good access to water, along with timely care.”
