A Canterbury man has been banned from owning horses for three years after several animals were found in poor condition on his property.
Barry Alexander Hill was sentenced in the Ashburton District Court on eight charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
The 55-year-old from Ashburton was handed 300 hours of community work and ordered to pay $5314.80 in reparations to the Ministry for Primary Industries for veterinarian costs, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Said MPI district manager animal welfare and NAIT compliance Canterbury, Richard Notley: "Animal welfare inspectors visited this property numerous times and tried to get Mr Hill to take responsibility for his horses.
"He was directed to euthanise two horses to end their pain and suffering."
Animal welfare inspectors visited the property the horses were on and found them living in hazardous conditions, the Herald reported.
Hill had 12 horses on a 1.2ha property, but only had capacity for two.
MPI said there was no grass cover for the horses to graze, a lack of supplementary feed and water and horses living in their own faeces, the Herald reported.
"Not only did Mr Hill fail to address any of the animal welfare concerns we identified but he ignored a Temporary Enforcement Order issued by the court that required him to remove all horses from the property within seven days."
Seven horses that were still on the property during another intervention were also rehomed.
