Date 31 May 2007

Bull unfit for transport

A livestock dealer pleaded guilty to one charge, under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, in the Hamilton District Court yesterday for transporting an animal in an unfit condition.

The Judge convicted and fined Liam McBride $250. The fine was reduced in consideration of a day spent in police custody, due to having exhausted all reasonable avenues to locate Mr McBride and serve a summons for him to appear in Court.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Animal Welfare Investigation Team welcomed the conviction. Animal Welfare Investigations Manager, Charles Cadwallader, said that a man with Mr McBride’s experience should have known better.

“There is a higher onus of responsibility on those that make their living from animals. This offence was exacerbated by the fact that the defendant knew the animal was unwell prior to transport. He also observed that the bull had fallen in the truck on-route to the sales yards when he stopped at another farm, where it could have been unloaded and attended to.”

The offence was detected at the Morrinsville sale yards, where routine veterinary inspections were recently introduced by the Livestock Companies, in consultation with MAF’s Animal Welfare Investigation Team, to improve the standard and selection of stock presented for sale. During a routine inspection of the cattle pens an Animal Welfare Investigator sighted a bull in poor physical condition. The bull’s spine, rib cage and pelvis were clearly visible under the skin. The bull was panting, with its head hunched down. Fresh faeces on its head, knees, belly and flanks indicated that it had fallen recently.

A vet examined the bull and recommended that it be put down. The bull’s symptoms were consistent with a long-term infection of one of more vital organs. The bull was unwell and very distressed. A post mortem revealed the bull had been sick for several weeks or months with an infection that had damaged the liver, causing it to be unwell.

In the vet’s opinion, the bull should not have been transported from the farm and the owners should have sought veterinary advice because of the bull’s extremely poor health.

“This case sends the message that it is unacceptable to transport unfit stock or to attempt to dispose of sick stock through a sale yard or freezing works. Anyone considering the transport or sale of unfit animals, for example any in poor condition, sick or injured should seek and follow veterinary advice regarding the animal’s fate and obtain veterinary certification prior to transportation if that animal is deemed fit to travel.”

ENDS

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