A Dargaville calf rearer has been fined NZD 15,000 over his poor treatment of calves, with 9 found dead, and others having to be euthanised.
Vivian Philip Flett was sentenced (26/9/25) in the Whangārei District Court on five charges under the Animal Welfare Act following a successful prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Flett was also ordered to reimburse MPI NZD 4,312.63 for associated veterinarian costs. Following a complaint, MPI animal welfare inspectors visited the farm to inspect the animals over the course of three visits.
"Nine dead calves were discovered in paddocks during animal welfare inspections, and four others had to be euthanised. We also found that most of the calves weighed between 20kg and 50kg less than they should have been. We weighed 250 calves during our inspections, and all but 12 were underweight," said MPI regional manager, animal welfare and NAIT compliance, Brendon Mikkelsen.
"These welfare problems were avoidable if Mr Flett had been providing sufficient feed and meeting the physical health and behavioural needs of his animals,"
The farm lacked quality pasture, and some of the calves struggled to eat supplementary feed, which was mouldy hay and whole kumaras.
"It was Mr Flett’s responsibility to do the right thing by his animals. In this case, that means providing quality supplementary feed, identifying health problems and seeking timely veterinary help, all of which he failed to do. When we find evidence of animal neglect, we take action."
Animal welfare is everyone's responsibility, and MPI strongly encourages any member of the public who is aware of animal ill-treatment or cruelty to report it to the MPI animal welfare
