Published on 5 May 2023
https://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/300869143/horowhenua-farmer-dodges-disqualification-after-29-cattle-starve-to-death
A well-regarded and experienced Horowhenua farmer forgot to feed his cattle because of personal stress, under-staffing and a road closure, a court has heard.
Daniel Kilsby-Halliday, 39, was fined $32,500 in the Levin District Court on Thursday for the neglect and ill-treatment of 29 cattle who starved to death over three weeks in 2021.
He was convicted on three charges of reckless ill-treatment of animals, one of failing to comply with the animal welfare act and one of ill-treating an animal.
These also related to 59 surviving cattle found in the same paddock who were “chronically malnourished” and one cow found with an untreated hip injury.
Kilsby-Halliday and his family lived at the 310ha “hill-country” farm, on the outskirts of Levin, and the paddock where he found the dead cattle was 200m from is house.
Judge Lance Rowe said the cattle were put into the deer-fenced paddock on June 3, 2021, but Kilsby-Halliday did not return until August.
Complaints regarding animal welfare were made to the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) in 2021, and in February that year it issued a legal instruction for Kilsby-Halliday to take immediate action.
But, in May among a large mob of sheep they found five dead lambs and 50 others unwell.
They were full of parasites and a formal written warning was issued.
On August 3, 2021, another complaint was made about dead cattle.
MPI visited three days later and found the deer-fenced paddock was chewed bare and down to “minimal stalk”.
The 29 dead cattle were between 12 and 24 months old.
Some had faecal marks that indicated they had been “recumbent for sometime before dying”, Rowe said.
Others died where they fell.
Defence lawyer Nicholas Jessen said his client was under stress in the first half of 2021 due to the loss of staff, which was compounded by the closure of Gladstone Rd – the only public road to and from the farm.
During its closure Kilsby-Halliday drove an alternative route, through forestry, and swapped cars at Horowhenua District councillor Sam Jennings’s home to get into town.
Jennings was in court supporting Kilsby-Halliday.
Jessen said the closure had a “real and physical” effect on the family’s day-to-day lives.
“It was a real dark time.”
Jessen said when Kilsby-Halliday found the dead cattle he took steps to bring the surviving ones back to health.
This showed remorse and that there “was no callousness in this offending”.
Kilsby-Halliday had sought the advice of three vets who wrote affidavits to the court and said they had no concerns about his ability to keep farming, Jessen said.
MPI prosecutor Katrina Barber said the animals would have been in significant pain and distress.
She said the road closure and its effect on staff should have been managed by the person in charge.
Judge Rowe said it was clear Kilsby-Halliday was doing the job of at least three people and “you plainly needed help”.
A vet who had carried out post-mortems on the cattle also found multiple management and husbandry issues at the farm, including limited supervision, overstocking and underfeeding.
There were also issues with infrastructure and no effective parasite control.
Rowe declined to order a disqualification and said he believed this was a confined incident that would not happen again.
“I think, basically, this is a situation where you have forgotten about these animals.”
He said Kilsby-Halliday had been proactive in getting help to “ensure this never happens again”.
He also noted the impact a disqualification would have on Kilsby-Halliday who owned a number of farms, including one with his mother, held roles on the board of the AP and I Show and was part of a wellness programme.
Rowe said the issues of good practice and science should be well-known to Kilsby-Halliday who had a bachelor of applied science in agriculture.
He also won and competed in Young Farmer of The Year several times.
After the sentencing, MPI national manager Animal Welfare and NAIT compliance Gray Harrison said the cattle were about 200m from the house and their slow deterioration should have been noticed through regular checks.
“Kilsby-Halliday is an experienced farmer and knew what his responsibilities were to his animals.
“Most farmers do the right thing for their animals – checking on them regularly and taking action if they notice changes in their health – but he didn’t.”“Most farmers do the right thing for their animals – checking on them regularly and taking action if they notice changes in their health – but he didn’t.”