The husband and son of National Party MP Barbara Kuriger have appeared in Palmerston North District Court on animal cruelty charges.
Dairy farmers Louis Stephen Kuriger, Tony Michael Kuriger and business partner Lloyd Timothy Harris face 11 counts each.
They are the directors of a business, Oxbow Dairies Limited, which is also charged.
While Barbara Kuriger herself isn’t charged, she owns shares in the company.
Among other charges, it’s alleged the defendants ill-treated dozens of cows, allowing them to suffer to a point where they had to be put down.
The alleged offences are said to have occurred in Hukanui in the lower North Island, between October 2016 and April 2017.
In court today, none of the defendants entered pleas.
The case is due back in court later this month, when a plea date is expected to be decided.
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