May 18, 2010

SPCA questioned about handling of neglect reports

Nicola Subritzky trial, Day 2. By Anne Clarkson

An SPCA animal welfare officer who visited Emerald Lodge near Darfield after concern was raised about the condition of the horses there said there were about 80 horses on site and she found a few that were thin.

Glenys Irwin, giving evidence on the second day of a defended hearing in the Christchurch District Court, said she spoke to Emerald Lodge owner Paul Thistoll and discussed starting a destocking programme as the farm was overstocked.

She said that a month later on April 8, 2009, the SPCA received a phone call about five to six yearlings in a yard with no feed and tails being chewed.

When she went there she found the conditions were fine and there was plenty of feed, she said. The rest of the farm was checked and there was plenty of feed and the destocking was on track.

On April 27 she again went to the farm and found there were still some ?light? horses on the property, but there was feed down for them and things were improving.

Instructions were issued on May 12 to keep the feed up and keep reducing the numbers of horses. Also all horses were to have horse covers and double the food quantities. Some horses had not been wormed and instructions were given for this to be done within 24 hours.

There was another visit on June 4. The horse numbers had been further reduced and everything was looking much better, she said.

Paul Norcross read some emails that were sent to the SPCA from Nicola Anne Subritzky who is on trial for the theft of five horses which she says she took from the Tui Creek?property near the Rakaia Gorge because they were neglected and in poor condition.

In one, the 41-year-old horse trainer told them there were 12 horses at Tui Creek. She said how bad the horses were and that one had to be destroyed. Another was very bad with worms.

She was worried that the horses left at Tui Creek would not make it through the winter. She said there would be snow and some of the older mares were already struggling. She received permission from the horse?s owners to provide their name and contact numbers to the SPCA as they had all experienced similar problems.

Still no-one from the SPCA had been sent to Tui Creek. She emailed again asking for help for the remaining 17 horses. She was told an investigator would go to Tui Creek to review them. When she rang a week later she was told no-one had been there.

She told them the horses needed to be uplifted by July 21 as the property was going to be sold. By then there were 11 horses left, the grass was gone and they were being fed on baleage. An older mare was very lame and could hardly move, she told them in her email.

Judge Jane Farish asked at what stage would SPCA take action against an owner of a horse in terms of neglect.

The inspector told her the SPCA would first get the owner to comply with written instructions, and then get a veterinarian to attend, and if they did not comply further action would be taken.

Constable Lois Williscroft, the officer in charge of the case said she spoke to Subritzky after a complaint from Mr Thistoll. Subritzky admitted taking the horses and said she was rescuing them because they were in a bad state and if not rescued they would probably die.

The three-day hearing is expected to finish tomorrow.