A South Waikato dairy farmer has been ordered to pay more than $3000 and undertake more than 200 hours of community work after pleading guilty to neglect and ill treatment of cows.
Tony Clayton, 54, of Atiamuri, was also disqualified from owning or being responsible for animals for two years after the cattle became malnourished or starved to death in his care.
He was last week sentenced in the Rotorua District Court to 240 hours community work, nine months' supervision, and ordered to pay reparation costs of $3100 plus court costs of $300.
Clayton had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of failing to ensure the physical, health and behavioural needs of animals in his care, and reckless ill-treatment of animals resulting in death.
The second charge related to two incidents where cows starved to death on Clayton's farm in late winter 2014.
In one case five cows died of starvation, as part of a herd of 19 cows that was confined to a silage stack paddock to forage the remains of the silage that had been fed out over winter.
In another case seven cows died after being confined in a paddock with insufficient pasture cover and no supplementary feeding.
The neglect charge related to 14 malnourished and diseased weaner calves that were in a herd of 120 calves on the farm in February 2014. They did not have adequate pasture cover and the calves were dependent of being fed with milk from a calf-feeder. Too much competition at the calf-feeder, nothing else significant to feed on and untreated diseases left these calves severely underweight, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said.
MPI Waikato/Bay of Plenty district compliance manager Brendon Mikkelsen said it was a timely reminder for farmers to seek help early if they had a shortage of feed.
"This sort of offending is preventable," he said.
"MPI Animal Welfare Inspectors will often work through issues with stock owners, but would not tolerate negligence or cruelty."
• Anyone who suspects cases of animal ill-treatment or who has animal welfare concerns is advised ring the MPI hotline on 0800 008 333.