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A Far North farmer already banned from owning cattle for two years has been sentenced to 400 hours' community service and ordered to pay $20,000 costs for breaching a 2005 court order for three previous offences involving starving cows.
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry animal welfare investigation manager Greg Reid said the case was one of the worst instances of repeat offending he had seen.
Alan Summers, 65, and his wife Narcissa, 49, appeared in the Whangarei District Court yesterday and admitted contravening a court order, wilfully obstructing an inspector and failing to address the health of cows on a farm at Motutangi, north of Kaitaia. Mrs Summers was convicted and discharged after admitting that she failed to attend to the needs of cattle.
Their son Lee, 20, faces charges of failing to provide details to an animal welfare inspector and will appear at a later date.
All charges were laid under the Animal Welfare Act after the ministry's animal welfare investigation unit received information last year that Alan Summers was farming again.
An inspector saw poor grass cover, emaciated and underfed cattle on the defendant's farm, and a dead cow lying in a drain. A second visit in October last year found milking cattle in generally poor condition and several cows had lice on their necks.
Summers took the cattle away when a vet and farm consultant tried to examine the animals, refusing to co-operate or give information to the inspectors, the court was told.
Inquiries found Summers was running his farm contrary to a previous court order.
Mr Reid said Summers not only wilfully ignored a court order preventing him from running a farm, his family supported his action "and together they let the cattle starve".
No cattle had to be put down as a result of the affair.
