Hoarder fighting to keep animals

NO SIGNS OF LIFE: Kennels sit empty at Anne Power's property near Whangarei.

A Whangarei woman banned from owning animals for 10 years has appealed the sentence while the SPCA is hoping to seize 82 animals they believe she has.

Anne Power, who lives near Whangarei, was last week ordered to hand over all animals she owned to the SPCA after being found guilty of recklessly ill-treating a horse that died from starvation in 2013. The sentence ordered that Power must not own any animals for 10 years and had to forfeit any still in her ownership.

Power lodged an appeal in the Auckland High Court on Tuesday. In a callover yesterday, Justice Mark Woodford scheduled the appeal hearing for August. Power has also lodged an application to prevent the sentence from coming into effect until the appeal is heard. Lawyers for Auckland SPCA appealed the application with Mr Woodford reserving his decision until Monday.

Before Power managed to lodge the appeal, the SPCA uplifted 45 of her mainly Highland cattle from a Whatitiri property on Monday. The animals appeared to be in good condition and were to be sold at the Kauri stock sales on Tuesday.

SPCA Auckland executive director Bob Kerridge said Power had 44 dogs, 18 horses and 20 sheep on different properties. He believed more were being kept at her home just out of Whangarei. "Because there are a large number on animals involved we are concerned about their welfare," Mr Kerridge said. "They will need to be at least inspected."

He agreed with Auckland District Court Judge Nevin Dawson, who described the death of the 32-year-old horse as "sickening".

When the horse's death at a property at Riverhead, north-west of Auckland, was investigated by the SPCA, a neighbour reported seeing it collapse and die, then seeing a dog gnawing on the corpse in full view of neighbouring houses. The horse was severely starved, had dental problems, nasal lesions, pneumonia and other lung infections, chronic worm infestation, protruding hip bones, spine and ribs, severe muscle wastage, rain scald and loss of hair, the court heard.

Power, who has been labelled an "animal hoarder", has had a long history with welfare authorities. Starting in 1998, she had multiple animal welfare-related convictions and chalked up more than 50 breaches of council bylaw infringements. She was banned from owning dogs for five years after two of her dogs attacked a person.