Whanganui dairy farmer sentenced for failing to register cattle

Whanganui dairy farmer Shaun Cornelius O'Leary has been fined $31,200 for failing to register 476 cattle into the NAIT system.

The scheme, which maintains a national database of cattle and deer movements, is a critical part of New Zealand's ability to respond quickly to biosecurity threats.

Fifty-five-year-old O'Leary, who was in charge of 2415 animals, was sentenced in the Whanganui District Court on March 7 on 13 charges under the National Identification and Tracing Act 2012. He had pleaded guilty.

NAIT records show that between December 31, 2019, and September 22, 2020, 476 unregistered cattle were sent to other NAIT locations from his farm at Whangaehu. O'Leary had previously received infringement notices for moving cattle off farm, along with a written warning from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

MPI regional manager of animal welfare and NAIT compliance Joanna Tuckwell said unregistered animals created serious risk in being able to track and trace animals if a biosecurity problem occurred.

"We take non-compliance seriously because of the potentially devastating effect these threats can have on industry and communities," Tuckwell said.

"Tagging the animals is only half the job, they must also be registered into the system.

"We can't afford complacency. Our message to people with animals which come under the NAIT scheme is that we all need to do our part to protect New Zealand's biosecurity."

The NAIT Act was amended in late 2019, increasing the maximum penalty tenfold to $100,000.

Up to 2018, only about 60 per cent of tagged animals were being registered before first movement. Since 2019, MPI and the Operational Solutions for Primary Industries (OSPRI), which maintains the NAIT database, have renewed efforts to improve compliance, and the compliance rate was up to 90 per cent by the end of 2021.

People in charge of animals who are unsure about what they need to do should visit the OSPRI website ospri.co.nz for details.