increase font size
A Taranaki dairy farmer received four-month home detention and was disqualified from overseeing of animals for 18 months.
A Taranaki dairy farmer received four-month home detention and was disqualified from overseeing of animals for 18 months over a lack of feed and welfare which led to some animals being euthanised.
Ray Ernest Nairn,56 was sentenced in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to eight charges under the Animal Welfare Act, following a successful prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
MPI regional manager, animal welfare and NAIT compliance, Joanna Tuckwell says Nairn is an experienced farmer and knew what his welfare responsibilities to his animals were and he failed them.
“Some of these animals were sick, emaciated and in such poor condition, the only option was to euthanise them. When we find evidence of deliberate animal neglect, we will take action and put the case before the court," says Tuckwell.
In November 2021, an MPI animal welfare inspector and veterinarian inspected Nairn’s 230 cattle following a complaint about their physical condition. They found some animals were severely underweight and in poor health because of a lack of grass cover and supplementary feed.
Several animals had to be euthanised including a heavily pregnant and emaciated Friesian cow. Another cow that was suffering from a longstanding mastitis infection was also euthanised. The veterinarian noted Nairn had continued to milk this cow twice daily, despite it having an open and discharging wound. Seven other underweight dairy cows were found to be receiving insufficient feed to maintain milk production without further weight loss occurring. Furthermore, a severely lame cow was sent to a meat processing plant following treatment.
During the inspection, MPI animal welfare inspectors directed Nairn to dry off some cows to enable the animals to recover to a healthy weight and prevent further suffering. Animal welfare inspectors returned to the farm a month later to check Nairn was following the directions and found there were 2 cows that had not been dried off.
"Nairn was directed to stop milking these cows, which he didn’t do, causing further suffering. Most farmers do right thing for their animals – providing sufficient and quality feed and timely veterinarian treatment. It’s disappointing that we had to again direct Nairn to stop milking these cows for the sake of their welfare," Tuckwell says.
Along with the home detention and disqualification sentence, a special condition imposed by the court was that Nairn must undertake treatment and counselling as directed by the Department of Corrections. He was also ordered to pay $4,597.13 in veterinarian costs.
The recent East Coast Farming Expo, held over two days at Wairoa, offered an insight into the current state of agriculture on the east of the North Island, at a time when the locals are remembering the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.
A Research programme supported by Beef+Lamb NZ is investigating the potential of ‘accelerometer’ sensors for early detection of conditions such as facial eczema (FE) in sheep.
OPINION: At last, a serious effort to better connect farmers and scientists.
An initiative by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to connect farmers with scientists is taking off judging by the response at recent regional field days.
Scientists from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are part of an international team working to develop a low-cost diagnostic tool that could significantly improve food crop production in developing countries.
Rural retailer Farmlands has launched a new casual clothing range available across 42 stores nationwide and through its online store.
Federated Farmers says the health and safety changes announced this week by the Government represent the start of overdue reforms.
The Government is calling on rural New Zealanders to share their views on proposed regulations designed to improve the management of farm plastic waste.
For many urban New Zealanders, stepping into Pāmu’s Pinta dairy farm near Taupo last month was the first time they had had the chance to experience farm life up close.
After tasting 240 New Zealand made cheeses, judges have bestowed medals upon 199 of the entries.
Bay of Plenty’s top share farmers Andre and Natalie Meier are no strangers to the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards winning circle.
OPINION: At last, a serious effort to better connect farmers and scientists.
OPINION: If you believe Maori Party president John Tamihere’s claim that “nothing dodgy” occurred at Manurewa Marae during the last…
