New Zealand farmer convicted of neglect after more than 200 sheep have to be euthanised

Bevan Scott Tait sentenced to nine months of home detention and 150 hours of community service

Sheep are seem on farm land at the base of the crown range on 25 June 2020 in Queenstown, New Zealand (Getty Images)

A farmer in New Zealand has been convicted of ill-treating his sheep after more than 200 of them had to be euthanised because of severe emaciation.

Bevan Scott Tait, 52, has been sentenced to nine months of home detention and 150 hours of community service. He has also been banned from owning or managing farm animals for four years.

Mr Tait had earlier pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Animal Welfare Act. His lawyer, however, said that there were concerns about the farmer’s mental health and he had not received enough support.

He had admitted to animal neglect charges, including ill-treatment of animals and failing to provide proper and sufficient care to the sheep, according to Stuff.

An investigation into Mr Tait’s farm in Russock Creek began in 2019 after the Ministry of Primary Industries' (MPI) animal welfare arm received a complaint, leading to a series of inspections that year.

MPI national manager of animal welfare Gray Harrison said in a media release that the inspectors found “animals in some distress” and directed Mr Tait to take corrective action, including euthanising eight sheep.

In a follow up, he said the inspectors noted that Mr Tait had made some improvements and had treated affected sheep for fly-strike. However, the ministry received another complaint and executed a search warrant.

The inspectors then found three dead cows and noted that there wasn’t enough pasture available to his sheep, he said. Mr Tait was directed to make a number of improvements to ensure the animals were fed properly.

At an unannounced follow-up, the inspectors found that Mr Tait had not followed directions and he was “not doing what was needed to look after his animals,” said Mr Harrison.

Mr Harrison also said: “We had a vet assess each animal individually, and as a result 226 sheep and three lambs had to be euthanised.”

The MPI sold and re-homed the rest of his animals.

Mr Tait's lawyer Tanya McCullum told a district court judge that the farmer had been “crying out for help” and needed assistance because at the time, he was struggling with his mental health and his wife was not well.

She said that months before the incident, the Rural Support Trust was in touch with Mr Tait and despite seeing that he was struggling, “they didn’t actually do anything to support him,” according to Stuff.

The judge, however, said that the offending was serious because he was an experienced farmer.

About the incident, Mr Harrison said: “It’s fair to say that this type of offending is rare. Most farmers do the right thing by their animals and Mr Tait's neglect of his animals was one of the worst we've seen for some time.”