An Auckland man has been ordered not to own sheep or cattle for 10 years after after his treatment of stock left him with five counts of animal welfare charges.
Andrew Dyson was sentenced to 175 hours of community work and ordered to pay over $500 in addition to the disqualification.
All sheep and cattle owned by Dyson were forfeited by order to the SPCA.
SPCA inspectors responded to a complaint in February 2017 regarding health and safety concerns of multiple sheep on a Clevedon property. All nine sheep in the paddock had heavy fleece, daggy rear ends and had completely empty water drums.
One of the sheep was lame and had mobility issues due to the poor condition it was kept in.
Dyson was made to appear before the District Court, where he blamed a recent injury which had left him incapacitated.
Dyson agreed to have water organised for the sheep as well as for them to be sheared.
But when SPCA inspectors returned to the property three weeks later they found the sheep continued to appear weak and lethargic.
Inspectors also found the body of a dead sheep covered in flies and maggots that had been left at the fence line.
Five sheep had their fleece missing, as well as a dirty fleece, indicating flystrike.
SPCA immediately took possession of the animals, which were confirmed to have flystrike and said to be maggot infested by an SPCA vet.
One ewe had a chronic toe abscess and two appeared to have had their tails illegally docked, which were now infected.
All sheep also had wounds which were consistent with a dog attack.
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