Animal cruelty comes at a price in NZ
The consequence of cruelty to animals has cost a New Zealand poultry company $20,000 in fines. Additionally, the owner may not own birds for the coming 10 years.
The Wellington SPCA pursued charges against Wellington Egg Company after receiving a complaint from a member of the public. Director of the company, Trevor Soon Chin, pleaded guilty to several charges of animal cruelty and was recently sentenced in Wellington District Court.
The company was fined $20,000 for four charges of failing to provide adequate shelter or water, and Chin was sentenced to 400 hours of community service and disqualified from owning birds for 10 years for charges of ill treating animals.
The judge said that he wanted to make it clear to the farming community as a whole that cruelty would not be tolerated.
It was the first prosecution in New Zealand of a commercial battery chicken farm for breaches of the minimum code of standards under the Animal Welfare Act.
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