A Waikato farmer has been fined $17,500 and warned he could be disqualified from farming after his neglect led to the deaths of 11 young cattle.
Rodney Grant Nicol, 61, owns a 300-cow dairy farm in Tokoroa and had 110 yearlings at the time he was investigated by the Ministry of Primary Industries last August.
He appeared in the Tokoroa District Court today, after previously pleading guilty to seven charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
An MPI welfare inspector found seven dead yearlings on their first visit to the farm on 10 August, who Nicol believed died of parasites.
He was then instructed to drench all of his yearlings for parasites within nine working days.
The Ministry then received further complaints as to the treatment of the yearlings following their initial visit.
“If we find evidence of deliberate cruelty to animals, we will hold the person responsible to account,“ MPI regional manager for animal welfare, Brendon Mikkelsen said.
Further inspection later in August found that 32 of the yearlings had not been drenched within the agreed time period.
Many of the cattle were also suffering from "chronic under-nutrition" according to Mikkelsen.
Two more yearlings were advised to be euthanised by a vet, with one so weak it was stuck in a fence.
The tenth animal was found dead in a paddock near those yearlings.
Mikkelson said the cattle were less than half the weight they should have been and would have “suffered greatly” from neglect.
“The vet also noted that he had not come across young stock in such a state of malnourishment during his career.”
Nicol had said the eleventh yearling had been drenched and given a vitamin B12 but died after it was caught in heavy rain.
During the investigation, he had told MPI inspectors that he’d prioritised his milking herd over the yearlings’ wellbeing.
It’s not the first time Nicol has appeared before the courts on animal welfare charges; having previously pleaded guilty on charges that involved failing to ensure reasonable treatment of a dairy cow with a broken leg.
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