Welivego

As per Welivego, A farmer in south-west Victoria was fined more than $50,000 for "extraordinary negligence" that caused 15% of his herd of cattle to perish.

In July 2021, when authorities responded to accusations of animal welfare issues, fifth-generation farmer Neil Lindsay Mcintosh had 580 head of angus cattle grazing on his 220 hectare property in Tahara West, west of Hamilton. 

Over the course of the following month, six visits from Agriculture Victoria officers resulted in the discovery of further dead and ill cattle as they traveled across the farm's 15 paddocks. 

A total of 65 dead animals were discovered, and another 23 needed to be put to sleep because they were so malnourished. This represents 15% of the herd. 

Mcintosh entered a guilty plea to ten counts of animal cruelty on Wednesday while slumped over in a chair in the Hamilton Magistrates Court.

Extraordinary carelessness 

The prosecution said before the court that dead animals were discovered in a tree, paddocks, and the creek that ran through Mcintosh's property, and that the cattle by the creek were too weak to escape the mud after drinking from it.  

Due to famine and starvation, the euthanized cattle were said to be exceedingly thin and in poor physical condition.

The court was informed that they had been neglected and had been unable to stand up for several days. 

It was said that when officers visited the farm, they discovered there was not enough grass for grazing and that the only sign of additional hay was insufficient to support the cattle there. 

They came to the conclusion that the herd of 580 cattle had been malnourished, starved, and plagued by untreated parasites.

Mcintosh told the officers that he was checking on the herd every day and that the feed levels on the ranch were on the low end. However, he frequently did it in the dark because he also worked as a farm safety educator. 

During an inspection, he admitted to officers, "I've completely miscalculated the seasons and their physical conditions." 

"I tend to be very cautious."

Distorted judgment 

Defense attorney Alan Marshal said that Mcintosh's judgment and his capacity to react effectively to the scenario developing on his farm were obscured by a "perfect storm" of emotional and financial stresses. 

He claimed Mcintosh had experienced a divorce, was managing the financial repercussions with a second job, and was considering the prospect of selling a portion of the property. 

He has indeed had the greatest wake-up call, according to Mr. Marshall. 

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge made notice to a passage in a character reference from another farmer who criticized the agriculture department's conduct and stated that general deterrence was a crucial factor in sentencing in this case. 

According to the farmer's letter, which was read in court, "I bet it is easy for you with your well-paid government job to be a puritan... unless you have personally been in that situation, I am calling bullshit on you and your credibility." 

For someone who purports to be a responsible farmer, Mr. Lethbridge added, "that is a remarkable comment to make." 

"Parliament and the community have a responsibility to set minimum standards and ensure that those who make a living raising livestock do so in a manner that is acceptable to the community."

Mr. Lethbridge questioned whether the phrase revealed a "cultural problem" among certain farmers who considered their farm to be their "empire". 

Mcintosh was found guilty and given a $52,000 fine.