He said the many delays were primarily caused by MPI, which brought the charges in 2019.
This had placed enormous stress on the Gentils who had faced extra financial costs to fight the case, and the charges at trial were far different from what they initially faced.
He said the couple had been farming for 40 years with no previous issues.
The lawyer said the Gentils were of good character, as highlighted in letters of support, and a conviction would be out of proportion to the gravity of the offence.
‘’In 40 years this is the first time in that period that they have come before the court.’’
He said poor weather at the time of the offending was behind the situation, along with calving issues. He said it was not a case of deliberate neglect as the couple had contracted an experienced sharemilker in Smith to look after the animals and implement the feeding plan.
The couple had sold their farm and their 40-year farming career was over.
For Smith, lawyer Matthew Ridgley endorsed Farmer’s comments, saying Smith had also given up farming after many years and he deserved a discharge without conviction.
Judge Bayley rejected the applications and instead convicted and discharged all three without any fines, but imposed reparations of $815.93 each for the vet costs associated with the case.
Judge Bayley ruled the Gentils’ actions as moderate to serious in the scale of offending, while Smith’s was deemed minor to moderate and a conviction was appropriate.
She said the Gentils and Smith had received a penalty serious enough by the guilty verdicts and convictions.
She said the Gentils, as the farm and animals owners, did not abdicate their responsibilities to check on the animals, despite having a sharemilker.
All three were charged in 2019 with five charges each under the Animal Welfare Act for failing to ensure that cattle on the farm were provided with proper and sufficient food, to which they pleaded not guilty.
During their trial, dairy farm consultant Kim Robinson said she noticed from the roadside that the cows were in “very poor condition” and alerted the ministry, which visited the Gentils on August 8, 2019.
MPI inspector Helen Doughty and vet Brian Lowe inspected a range of herds being kept in paddocks that were noted as low in feed, patchy or swampy after recent weather events.
Body condition scores (BCS) were conducted, with 83 of the animals scoring 3.0 and overall 14 were below the code minimum standard of 3.0.
One scored 2.0 and was emaciated, unsteady on its feet and recommended for euthanising.
The milking herd was reported as being fed silage along with one to two hay bales a day, which Lowe noted was insufficient to maintain milk production without further weight loss.
Other cows had ingrown horns, bottle jaw, an eye infection and possible bovine viral diarrhoea.
Two notices were issued to the Gentils under the Animal Welfare Act, requiring them to prevent or mitigate the suffering of animals.
The notices specified supplementary feed was to be given, including a large increase in silage bales each day, palm kernel feed and fertilisation to 50 hectares.
Robinson gave evidence that the average rate of production in Northland for a milking cow was 330-340 kilograms of milk solids a season. The Gentil cows were producing only 210kg.
When the new feeding regime was implemented, Robinson said there was a “sudden and significant increase” in production and it was her opinion there had been underfeeding previously.
The Gentils met all conditions and, when the monitors returned to the farm in 2020, the herd was reported to be in “very good condition”.
Mike Dinsdale is the editor of the Northland Age who also covers general news for the Advocate. He has worked in Northland for almost 34 years and loves the region.
