Cruelty penalty upheld for mistreating horses

The Court of Appeal has upheld the $13,000 fine imposed on a Northland man for wilfully ill-treating a stallion and failing to meet the needs of a dozen horses.

Kaikohe horse-trader George Albert was found guilty after a three-day trial and sentenced in the Auckland District Court in March.

He was also banned from having horses for 18 months and ordered to pay half the fine to the SPCA.

But Albert appealed on the grounds that the sentence was "manifestly excessive" and he had no previous convictions for similar offending.

A Court of Appeal written decision released this month said, in part: "This was a serious case of mistreatment of a number of animals over a period of time by a person whose experience with horses meant ... he ought to have known better."