Case summary documents show his explanation for the treatment was there were three cows in his herd that were “grumpy bitches” and he was sick to death of them kicking “the shit” out of him or other cows. He said he faced two options: send them to slaughter or “educate” them.
The contract milker's paint job on one of the farm's cows was posted on
social media.
A New Zealand Northland contract milker caught on hidden camera
beating cows with a steel pipe has had five charges against him dropped
after a judge ruled the footage was obtained unlawfully. While it was agreed
the footage – first exposed in a Newsroom story in 2018 – showed the
mistreatment of animals, the fact animal advocates trespassed in order to
obtain it led to the judge excluding the evidence.
Michael Ian Luke appeared in the Whangārei District Court Monday facing one
representative charge under the Animal Welfare Act related to failing to
handle dairy cows in a way that minimised the likelihood of unnecessary pain
or distress. This related to hitting a cow around the legs with an alkathene
pipe and a metal bar. The maximum penalty for the charge is 12 months’
imprisonment, and/or $50,000. He received a fine of $3000 plus $130 in court
costs.
Judge Deidre Orchard ruled that allowing the hidden camera footage captured
by animal advocacy group
Farmwatch could encourage deliberate flouting of
the law. She said it was “reasonable to infer that, if encouraged, they will
continue to gather evidence by these methods”. The charge Luke was convicted
on relied on evidence not supplied by Farmwatch.
Luke hit one cow in particular around the legs with a steel pipe so severely
both legs were swollen and she struggled to walk. Case summary documents
show his explanation for the treatment was there were three cows in his herd
that were “grumpy bitches” and he was sick to death of them kicking “the
shit” out of him or other cows. He said he faced two options: send them to
slaughter or “educate” them…
Luke had previously been the subject of an animal abuse complaint to MPI
made by a former worker at the farm; however, investigations by MPI found no
issues. When Luke started using a steel pipe to hit the cows, MPI was
contacted again but the worker said MPI told them the case was closed and
nothing more could be done without proof.
When Newsroom reported on the story in 2018, the farm worker said they felt
as if they had hit a brick wall: “We went through the right channels. We
went to the owner first, nothing was done. We went to MPI, nothing was done.
We didn’t want to leave it.” The worker contacted Farmwatch about the
situation and the organisation placed hidden cameras in the milking shed.
These captured a month of footage which the group then supplied to MPI on
June 21. MPI searched the property June 28, the same day Newsroom published
a story.
Luke objected to the admissibility of the video evidence captured. In
assessing whether it was admissible, Judge Orchard noted it was not the
first time Farmwatch had trespassed to obtain footage: “…it is reasonable to
infer that, if encouraged, they will continue to gather evidence by these
methods … there is at least an element of vigilantism here”.
She said while any right-minded person would be sympathetic to the cause of
stopping mistreatment of animals, there were “real dangers in individuals or
organisations operating without authority of oversight and using methods
which are unlawful”. Based on her ruling, the footage, which she called
“cogent evidence”, was obtained unlawfully, and five charges against Luke
were dropped.
Also see The Cow Beater, Animal Rights Poetry by Heidi Stephenson
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