Thursday, 23 April 2020 10:14

Sentencing of MP’s son delayed

Written by Peter Burke

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Barbara Kuriger.

The sentencing of Tony Kuriger, the son of National Party Taranaki-King Country MP Barbara Kuriger, on animal welfare charges has been delayed until June 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was due to be sentenced on Friday April 24.

Kuriger’s mother and MP Barbara Kuriger has been involved in a dairy industry for many years and is a former director of DairyNZ and was named Dairy Woman of the Year in 2012.

In January, Tony Kuriger pleaded guilty to 11 charges of ill-treating cows in a dairy herd he was responsible for.

His guilty plea came just two days into his trial at the Palmerston North District court where it was alleged that he caused the animals prolonged and severe pain.

The offences were said to have taken place on a farm that Kuriger and his father were involved in running during 2016/17. When Tony Kuriger pleaded guilty, the charges against his father, Louis were dropped.

Veterinarians told the court that cows on the property that the Kuriger farmed, near Eketahuna in the Tararua District, were subjected to prolonged suffering due to chronic foot problems and were not properly treated. In total 74 cows were treated for lameness and 25 were euthanised.

The Kurigers claimed they did all they could to stop the suffering.

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