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P17 ASHBURTON
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Mud fun Over 700 competitors splashed and gasped their way around the Rakaia Domain and nearby riverbed for the annual Muddy Good Run yesterday. FULL STORY
P8
Farmer starves 229 dairy cows A Mid Canterbury farmer convicted on animal welfare charges last year is back before the court on fresh charges. Geoffrey Edgar Walter Deal, 63, admitted three charges of failing to meet the physical needs of dairy cows, reckless ill-treatment of a cow, and willful ill-treatment of a cow, when he appeared before Judge Joanna Maze in the Ashburton District Court last week. Ministry of Primary Indus-
tries prosecutor Grant Fletcher told the court animal welfare inspectors visited Deal’s property in January as a result of a complaint made by a member of the public. They found 229 malnourished, mixed age cows and calves. MPI alleged Deal had failed to provide sufficient food and water, which caused the animals to suffer pain and distress. In addition, he had failed to provide veterinary treatment
for a number of cows. One cow had an overgrown horn, which had curled and penetrated its skull. This would have been prevented by dehorning the cow, and would have been obvious for some time. The cow was sedated and the horn removed. On a return visit in August, the inspectors were ordered off the property by Deal, who was described as angry and aggressive. They found a severely mal-
nourished cow lying on bare ground, unable to stand. The animal had a prominent hard growth protruding from its bottom jaw. The condition, known as woody tongue, is treatable with antibiotics. A vet was called to euthanise the cow to end its suffering. Deal had lost his contract with Fonterra due to his earlier animal welfare convictions, and was leasing more than 100 of the effected animals, in order to get
the contract reinstated. The two farmers who owned the cows required a vet certificate to transport them off the property, due to their poor condition. Mr Fletcher likened the grass cover on Deal’s paddocks to that of a freshly mown lawn, and his were also sold or transported to other properties. Deal was convicted and remanded on bail, for sentencing on December 15.
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