CHARGE OF CRUELTY FAILS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 126, 25 February 1928, Page 7

CHARGE OF CRUELTY FAILS

“NO GUILTY KNOWLEDGE” A charge of having cruelly ill-treat-ed eight cows by loading them into a railway truck tor tianspurt ironi Johnsonville to Levin in company with two bulls, which were not securely tied up, was denied by T. Brown, of Johnsonville, m the Magistrate’s Court yesterua y. Jtobert Locke, a stock buyer, of Levin, said that on Monday, January 6, he bought two bulls and eight cows at a cattie sale at Johnsonville. Witness leit instructions with defendant to the cattle to Levin, particularly asking him to tie up the bulls. Iho next morning witness went to the Levin railway yards to take delivery of the stock, lie found one bull loose in the truck, ami one of the cows dead, while another one was in such a bad slate that it had to be destroyed. JI. J. Conder, a railway porter, corroborated the former witness’s evidence as to the state of the cattle on arrival at Levm. Tho defendant gave evidence to the effect that he had tied the younger oi the two bulls up securely, but had not bothered to tie the other because lie knew from experience it was very tame and would be quite right in the truck. \\ itness had been handling cattle for twenty years, and had never been charged with ill-treating any beast. It was tho first time that he had ever neglected to tie a bull up in a truck, and he was perfectly satisfied that the old bull, which had no horns, had caused no damage. lie was also sure that ttie voting one could not have got off the rope with which he tied it. The rope produced in Court was not the rope with which he tied tlie beast. A man who had helped to truck the cattle from Johnsonville said that the defendant had tied the young bull up in such a manner that he could not cause any damage. The rope produced was not tlie rope with which Brown had tied the beast. Other witnesses gave evidence as to Brown's great experience with cattle, one saying that so far as they knew any bull he had tied up had never got “ The Magistrate (Mr. W. G. Kiddell, S.M.) said that he thought defendant had made an error of judgment in not fastening up the old bull with rope. At the same time Brown had given thought to the matter, and the reason ho had not tied the beast was because in ilia honest opinion he thought it would be quite all right in the truck. Before defendant could be convicted the Court would have to bo satisfied that th er ® was guilty knowledge on the P ar ' : defendant as to cruelty. As this had not been established the information would have to bo dismissed. Mr \\ . E. Leicester appeared tor Brown, while Mr. C. H. Arndt prosecuted on behalf of the S.P.C.A.