Cruelty to ducks 'appalling'

A man who left a trailer-load of more than 30 ducks and chickens to fester in their own filth for over a week has been fined $4500.

Six ducks died in the trailer in an act described by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) as "appalling".

Graham Robinson, of Mairehau, left the birds in a trailer while he created a new enclosure, but he did not attempt to improve conditions once he noticed some of the ducks had died, the Christchurch District Court was told.

Photographs taken by the SPCA at the scene showed the birds were in shocking condition. A report by the SPCA detailed how they were found.

"There was an overwhelming stench of rotting carcasses coming from the trailer and the floor area was covered in a thick, dirty brown wet muck.

"The birds were also covered in this muck to the extent that their natural body colour was not visibly clear," the report said.

Robinson was fined $3000 for the wilful ill-treatment of an animal, $1000 for failure to ensure proper care of an animal and ordered to pay $260 in court costs and $130 in legal fees.

Canterbury SPCA shelter manager Geoff Sutton told The Press the judgment was a sign the courts were taking a harder line on animal cruelty.

- © Fairfax NZ News