KEY POINTS:
A farmer whose use of pesticide on his cattle led to "a disaster of national importance" has been fined $15,000.
Carl Houghton of Waimauku, north-west of Auckland, pleaded guilty in the Waitakere District Court to two charges under the Animal Products Act and one charge under the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act.
He was fined $5000 for each offence.
Houghton used the plant pesticide endosulfan as a non-approved animal spray on cattle at his farm, leading to the suspension of New Zealand beef exports to Korea in September 2005.
Judge Lindsay Moore told Houghton: "Anyone with any understanding of the importance of the meat trade to New Zealand can only see in what happened here a disaster of national importance."
The fines were an "absolute minimum" because of Houghton's financial means, but were intended to send a clear a message to the farming community.
Judge Moore said New Zealand had a a major problem over farmers' attitudes towards agricultural chemicals.
They needed to understand the significance and seriousness of the consequences of their actions.
The Food Safety Authority's director of compliance and investigation, Geoff Allen said the activities of one farmer had prompted one of the authority's biggest and costliest non-compliance investigations.
"Something that may seem harmless, or like a good idea at the farm level, could have a major impact on food exports which are worth about $30 billion a year to New Zealand."
Up to 10 countries took meat from cattle sprayed with endosulfan, a chlorine-based insecticide used to control crop pests.
South Korea banned beef processed by Affco Moerewa after finding it in beef from the Northland plant.
- NZPA
