Man gets community service for ill-treatment of cow

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A man who knew one of his cows had a severely swollen eye but did not seek treatment for the eye cancer has been sentenced to 100 hours community work.

Wilson Komene of Northland was sentenced in Whangarei District Court on Tuesday for reckless ill-treatment of an animal.

The neglect was picked up in February last year after Komene sent cattle to a local processing plant.

Staff noticed the cow had an extremely swollen eye and did not have a veterinary certificate stating it was fit to be transported.

An examination by a Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) vet and an independent post-mortem examination found the cow had an advanced and severe case of cancer of the eye.

"The eye and right side of the head were grossly swollen; there was brown discharge from the eye, extensive scar tissue on the cornea, and a bacterial infection," MAF said.

It was likely the cow would have been in considerable pain and suffering from the tumour, the vet said.

Komene admitted to a MAF animal welfare investigator that he knew the cow had a swollen eye months earlier and he had tried to treat it himself.

He did not seek veterinarian advice and knew it had got worse.

MAF regional operations manager Ross Thurston said not treating eye cancer was unacceptable, especially since treatment could easily be sought.

"Cancer eye is treatable and recovery rates are near on 90 per cent. There is no excuse for animals to be unnecessarily suffering because of it and we take reports very seriously."