It started in October 2021, when the woman brought a cat, Boy, to a vet clinic using an alias.
She claimed to have found him as a stray on her property and noticed he was becoming unwell.
The vet found Boy was extremely emaciated, dehydrated and had sunken eyes.
The vet recommended further treatment or euthanasia, and when the woman elected for further treatment, the vet recommended Boy be admitted for fluids and antibiotic treatment.
The woman brought Boy back in the following day, and a second vet recommended euthanasia because of Boy’s poor prognosis.
The SPCA said the woman declined, and he was admitted to the clinic.
Despite a radiograph revealing a large mass on Boy’s chest that would have made breathing difficult, she declined euthanasia yet again.
The woman wanted a second opinion from a specialist vet, and an appointment was made.
Boy died later that same night after the woman took him home, a death the vet said would have been slow and distressing.
In the same month, the woman presented a hen called Sweetie to the same clinic, using an alias.
Sweetie had a days-old wound and couldn’t weight-bear on her swollen and bruised left leg.
Despite a scheduled recheck, the woman did not attend and took Sweetie to a different clinic, failing to attend another follow-up appointment there as well.
The next month, the woman and her partner returned under an alias with a cat and three four‑week‑old kittens showing signs of cat flu.
The SPCA described one kitten as “gravely unwell” and despite euthanasia being recommended, the woman again refused.
The kitten died later that day.
When inspectors executed a search warrant at the woman’s address later that month, they found between 200-300 roosters, hens and chicks on the property.
Some were roaming, and others were confined in fabric crates and small transport cages.
Two roosters were found in the bathroom with an inch of accumulated faeces on most surfaces.
Inspectors also found a rooster and hen contained in a crate wrapped in tarpaulin beside a tree, and a wild juvenile magpie contained in a budgie cage. All three were euthanised.
The rooster exhibited symptoms of severe neurological injury or disease, and the hen appeared to have a broken leg.
The juvenile magpie had a lesion so bad that its bone was exposed, and feather damage likely caused by its containment.
Westwood said it was tragic that animals had suffered or even died despite clear veterinary advice.
“This was a clear breach of court order,” he said.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
