Magistrate’s Court FARMER FINED FOR NEGLECTING LAMB

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28894, 14 May 1959, Page 13

Magistrate’s Court FARMER FINED FOR NEGLECTING LAMB

“It has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the lamb was emaciated, that it was infested with maggots and was in such a condition that it had to be destroyed, and that the defendant failed to give the lamb the attention it needed,” said Mr A. P. Blair, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday when convicting and fining Theodorus Everardus Jurrius, aged 29, £1 10s, on a charge of wantonly and unreasonably causing unnecessary suffering to a lamb by failing to supply treatment for fly strike. A charge against Jurrius of causing cruelty to a lamb by failing to supply it with sufficient feed was dismissed. Jurrius, who conducted his own case, pleaded not guilty to both charges. Mr D. J. Hewitt prosecuted. Stanley Barber Holder, an inspector of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said about 5.30 p.m. on April 14 he went to a farm in Curlett’s, road, which was occupied by the defendant. On looking into a pig sty he saw a lamb lying on the boards. At first it appeared to be dead but on closer inspection he saw that it was still breathing. He picked it up and took it out into the yard. The lamb was in a very emaciated condition, the wool was off one side and part of the flesh was raw, said Holder. There were signs of severe fly strike and it was covered with many maggots which had penetrated the flesh in several places. There were no signs that the lamb had been given any treatment.

As the lamb was almost dead the bailiff instructed him to destroy it, said Holder. Harold Frederick Calott, a bailiff of the Department of Justice, said that he saw two piglets on the farm with suppurating matter and blood on their legs, which he thought were broken, and he considered that it was his duty as a citizen to report the matter to the S.P.CA. and he did so. A veterinary surgeon, Alfred George Green, said he visited the defendant’s farm on April 15. The place was untidy and dirty. The animals were in quite good condition except for about four young pigs with athritis. The lamb showed no sign of being fed but sheep with fly strike would not eat.

Jurrius, giving evidence on his own behalf, said the lamb had been fly blown for some time. He had kept it as it was not worth sending to the works. A neighbouring boy and girl had wanted the lamb for a pet so he had kept it and treated it for about a fortnight. He would have killed the lamb only the children took such an interest in it and fed it at least once a day. To Mr Hewitt, Jurrius said he did not agree that the lamb was covered with maggots. It had some maggots but the infestation was not as great as was suggested by some of the witnesses. Evidence had been given by the veterinary surgeon, said the Magistrate, that a lamb with fly strike would not take food, so the charge relating to that would be dismissed but Jurrius would be convicted on the other charge. Jurrius said he had declared himself bankrupt as he was unable to pay his debts and was at present unemployed. Because of this the fine would be much lighter than it would otherwise have been, said the Magistrate. THEFT OF RECORDS

When seen by a constable walking along a wharf at Lyttelton at 1 a.m. yesterday, carrying a large cardboard cover containing five records, an assistant pantryman on the Rangitoto claimed that the records had been given to him by a person on another ship, said Sergeant T. A. Marsdn. Ronald Patrick Fary, aged 24, was fined £2O when he pleaded guilty to the theft of five records valued at £3 Ils on May 12. The constable was not satisfied with Fary’s explanation and it was found that the records had been stolen from a cafe at Lyttelton, Sergeant Marson said. The records were the property of a girl employed at the cafe. Fary had not come to the notice of the New Zealand police before, said Sergeant Marson. The Rangitoto was due to sail from Lyttelton that evening and the police requested that an order be made for the immediate payment of the fine. CONTAMINATED BREAD In spite of the most stringent precautions and checks and the use of the most modern machinery, on rare occasions the

contamination of bread occurred, said Mr A. H. Cavell, who entered a plea of guilty on behalf of C. E. Boon, Ltd., to a charge of selling food which was unfit for human consumption on February 9. The company was fined £5. On February 9 a man bought a quarter loaf of bread which contained foreign matter in the crust, said Mr C. M. Roper, who prosecuted. This matter was identified as rodent excreta. It was the company’s first offence. C. E. Boon, LtcJ., was one of the oldest established bakeries in Christchurch and had an excellent reputation, Mr Cavell said. The company waged an unremitting fight against the possible contamination of its products. “There is no suggestion of any negligence on the part of the company,” said the Magistrate. ON ENCLOSED PREMISES A man found lying on the bed in a room of the Canterbury Hotel, Lyttelton, at 3.45 p.m. on Tuesday told the licensee that his name was Roberts and that he had booked in, said Sergeant T. A. Marson. Jack Sydney Valentine Bott, aged 52, a workman, pleaded guilty to a charge of being unlawfully on enclosed premises on May 12 and was fined £5. The defendant had not booked in and at first refused to give his correct name to the* police, Sergeant Marson said. He later produced his driver’s licence. The defendant had previous convictions and liquor appeared to be largely his trouble. HORSE NEAR HOUSE The defendant was guilty of a purely technical offence as he had erected a fence 60ft away from a dwelling instead of 66ft, said Mr B. F. Stanley when he appeared for William Thompson

and entered a plea of guilty to a charge of permitting a horse to be at large within 100 links of a dwelling. Thompson was fined £2. Mr A. Hearn, who prosecuted for the Christchurch City Council, said that the defendant was seen in July, 1958, and a letter was sent to him regarding the offence and a further letter was sent in December. An inspection of the defendant’s property was made on January 16 and although a barrier had been erected it was not 100 links from the house. . The defendant, whose hobby was trotting, had one of the most up-to-date stables in Christchurch, said Mr Stanley. There were four acres of good plean pasture and at the time of the offence two foals were grazing on it. There were no horses on the property now. NO BUILDING PERMIT W. R. Connor, who pleaded guilty, was fined £1 10s on a charge of making additions to a house at Burnham without obtaining a permit The charge had been brought previously and was struck out because there was no solicitor for the prosecution, said Mr C. G. Penlington. The defendant had a sub-standard house at Burnham and he was told that he would have to obtain a permit before making any alterations. Connor said his son had been seriously ill and he had been advised to take him out of Christchurch. He had paid a builder to obtain a permit from the council and he had understood that this had been done. An inspector later told him no application had been made.

WATER TAKEN FROM RACE On a charge of taking water from a water race at Riccarton without obtaining the permission of the Paparua County Council C. C. Wright, who pleaded guilty, was fined 10s.

Mr C. G. Penlington, who prosecuted for the council, said the defendant had installed a pump on a water race and pumped water to his home and garden. “I did not think the charge j insisted on by the council was | a reasonable one,” said the defendant. “I did not realise I was committing an offence, and as soon as I was informed I dismantled the small pump.” J. A. Carmichael (Mr D. H Godfrey) was fined £2 on a similar charge of taking water from a race at Templeton. The defendant had an elaborate pump installation on a water race and was refused permission to take water because of a shortage, said Mr Penlington. FINED £3O David John Sargeant, aged 17, a bell-boy in the Rangitoto, pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawfully converting a motor-car valued at £9OO, at Dunedin on May 12. He was convicted and fined £3O. Accused said that after a party at Dunedin, he and some friends saw a car with the ignition key in it. They drove the car to Port Chalmers and abandoned it. He declined to name his friends. Sergeant Marson said the car was found with the radio missing. The radio was later returned anonymously. Sargeant said he was extremely sorry for causing so much trouble to the owner. PRICE ORDER BREACH lan Mcßae Collingwood, a gracer (Mr V. G. Spiller) pleaded guilty to selling eggs at a price in excess of a price order on March 17. He was fined £2. Mr J. G. Hutchison said an inspector for the Price Control Division bought a dozen eggs and paid 5s 6d for them. Their average weight was less than two ounces, which graded them as pullet eggs worth 2s lOd a dozen. Collingwood told him he bought the eggs for 5s Id a dozen from a wholesaler. Mr Spiller said the eggs were only If ounces short of the required weight. Collingwood was before the Court on account of the system of controls. He had bought the eggs to meet the demand for fresh eggs, and since he started buying eggs through the egg floor he had had nothing but complaints from dissatisfied customers, because now he could not' get fresh eggs. BUTCHER FINED William Nuttall, a butcher (Mr B. G. Dingwall), pleaded guilty to a charge of adding one grain a pound of sulphur-dioxide, a preservative, to beef on February 25. He was convicted and fined £7 10s. ADJOURNED Charges of serving beer of less than eight ounces on January 27, against James Harrison Richardson and D’Arcy Uren, were adjourned to June 10.