A South Waikato sheep and beef farmer has been fined $35,000 after failing to care for his sheep, leaving eight dead in a paddock.
Warren Michael George Koberstein was sentenced at Tokoroa District Court this week following a Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) investigation and prosecution.
The 72-year-old Mangakino farmer was convicted for failing to treat about 100 sheep with flystrike, and for the reckless ill-treatment of eight other sheep that died as a result of the disease.
Flystrike is a serious condition where maggots feed on the surface of a sheep's skin. It can cause considerable pain and suffering.
MPI animal welfare national manager Gray Harrison said flystrike was avoidable through adopting preventative measures, regular monitoring and prompt treatment of any affected sheep.
"The extent of the problem must have been obvious to this experienced farmer - an observation that was also made by Judge Mackenzie during sentencing.
"These animals suffered unnecessarily as a result of the farmer failing to ensure their simple needs were met."
Harrison said Koberstein was aware of flystrike in his lambs, having taken some steps to prevent flystrike from occurring in his lambs through the late spring, early summer of 2017/2018.
However, he said when animal welfare inspectors assessed Koberstein's farm in late February, 2018, fly-strike problems were found in about 100 lambs.
"During the inspection, animal welfare inspectors found dead lambs in paddocks and at least eight of the more recent carcasses were of sheep that had died after suffering from severe untreated flystrike.
"Mr Koberstein would have been aware of the risks of leaving flystrike untreated and that failing to rapidly treat an affected animal would cause pain and distress as well as a significant risk of death."
MPI encourages anyone with concerns about animal welfare to contact the confidential hotline: 0800 00 83 33.
