A Northland woman has been jailed for breaching an order prohibiting her from owning or exercising authority over animals for a period of 10 years after several animals, including cats, kittens, and birds, were found in "distressing conditions".
The woman, who had a history with SPCA, was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment at Auckland District Court on Friday, but given leave to apply for home detention.
A cat named Boy
In October 2021, the woman brought a severely unwell cat, named Boy, to a veterinary clinic under a false name. She claimed to have found the cat as a stray on her property and noticed he was becoming unwell.
The vet found Boy was extremely emaciated, dehydrated and had sunken eyes, and that the cat would have been showing these symptoms well before being taken to the clinic.
Recommended further treatment or euthanasia, the woman electedfurther treatment and said she would bring Boy back the next day to be admitted and started on fluids and antibiotics.
When Boy was brought back, a second veterinarian recommended euthanasia. The defendant declined and the cat was admitted to the clinic, but his condition did not improve.
A large mass on Boy's chest was revealed by radiographs which was likely affecting his ability to breathe. The woman declined euthanasia a third time, said she wanted a second opinion from a specialist vet and made an appointment to do so, before collecting the cat and cancelling the appointment. Boy died later that night, with the referring veterinian saying his death would have been slow and distressing.
The hen name Sweetie
That same month, the woman and her partner took a hen called Sweetie to the same clinic, using the alias.
Sweetie had a significant wound estimated to be several days old and was unable to bear weight on her left leg.
The woman failed to attend a scheduled recheck, taking Sweetie to another clinic for treatment where she again failed to attend a follow-up visit.
In November 2021, the woman and her partner returned again to the clinic with a cat and three four-week-old kittens, showing signs of cat flu. One kitten was gasping for air and gravely unwell. The vet recommended euthanasia but the woman refused. The kitten died later that day.
Following animal welfare concerns, SPCA inspectors executed a search warrant at the woman's address later that month, finding more than 200 roosters, hens and chicks. Many were roaming free, but others were in fabric crates and small transport cages.
Animals were also found in the home, including two roosters in the bathroom with an inch of accumulated faeces on most surfaces.
A rooster and hen were also discovered contained in a crate wrapped in a tarpaulin, while a wild juvenile magpie was contained in a budgie cage.
The rooster was extremely thin and exhibited symptoms of severe neurological injury or disease, while the hen was also thin and appeared to have a broken leg. Both animals were euthanised.
The juvenile magpie was in very poor condition and had a lesion along the length of its keel bone that had left the bone exposed. There was also extensive feather damage likely caused by the containment in a small wire cage. The bird was euthanised.
'Deeply concerning' amount of suffering
SPCA chief executive Todd Westwood said the scale of the situation and the suffering experienced by the animals was "deeply concerning".
"This was a clear breach of court order. What Inspectors saw, reflects patterns commonly associated with animal hoarding, where large numbers of animals accumulate in conditions that quickly become unmanageable," he said.
"Tragically, this means that animals suffer, and in some cases die, despite clear veterinary advice."
Westwood said SPCA took breaches of court orders seriously.
"It’s devastating that some of these animals suffered up until their last breath."
The woman refused to be interviewed by SPCA inspectors and was also disqualified from owning animals for 18 years.
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