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Animal welfare workers have welcomed a hefty fine for a Canterbury company director who let sheep starve to death on his lifestyle property with fresh feed nearby.
Myles McMillan Sydney Forsey, 49, was fined $3000 and banned from having control over any livestock for five years when he pleaded guilty in Christchurch District Court yesterday to failing to ensure the essential needs of animals were met.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) laid the complaint after an animal inspector found seven sheep dead in a paddock and 22 other sheep in the flock in poor condition on Forsey's Templeton lifestyle block.
Forsey said the sheep were owned by someone else, prosecutor Richard Raymond told the court. Three of the sheep were too weak to move to a nearby paddock with better grazing and had to be destroyed.
Forsey later admitted the sheep were his, but said he'd bought them on behalf of another person. He could not provide contact details for that person, the court was told.
Post mortems showed the sheep were starving, heavily worm-infested and suffering from pneumonia.
Judge Michael Green said Forsey did nothing when it must have been obvious the animals were desperate for food.
Canterbury RSPCA manager Geoff Sutton welcomed the fine and ban imposed on Forsey.
Increased penalties for animal cruelty and neglect had been provided for in 1999 legislation and Mr Sutton said it was pleasing to see "some reflection of that guidance through the courts".
"The judge was very clear in his summing up that he found neglect to be indefensible," he said.
Two other Canterbury neglect cases were scheduled for court hearings later this month.
"The defence of simply thinking 'I'm doing the best I can -- that's all I can do' just isn't good enough," Mr Sutton said.
"When animals are just being left to die in paddocks over a long period of time, it's totally unacceptable."
- NZPA
