May 19, 2010

All horse theft charges dismissed by judge

Nicola Subritzky trial, Day 3. By Anne Clarkson

All horse theft charges against Nicola Anne Subritzky have been dismissed, with the judge saying there was no evidence about the legal ownership of the animals and she was not convinced the woman was acting dishonestly.

?On all the evidence I am not satisfied that at the time she was acting dishonestly. She did nothing underhand, was transparent in her behaviour with the SPCA and police, and sought legal advice. The welfare of the horses was her paramount concern,? said Judge Jane Farish.

The judge?s decision came at the end of a three-day defended hearing in the Christchurch District Court where Miss Subritzky, a 41-year-old horse trainer, denied three charges alleging she stole five horses.

One of the charges was that she took three horses, the property of Paul and Debbie Thistoll, but they were bankrupt before the horses were taken.

Another charge was that she took a horse, the property of Burnham Blood Stock, but that was in liquidation then, and no longer exists.

Later in the day Judge Farish dismissed the third charge of taking a horse because Miss Subritzky had the consent of farm manager John White to take the horse and there was no evidence to say that she was intending to permanently deprive the owner of it, she said.

There was no evidence that the owner had asked for the return of her horse or that Miss Subritzky knew it belonged to her.

Mr White was holding the horses on Tui Creek, near the Rakaia Gorge, because he had not been paid over $60,000 for their grazing.

The judge said Miss Subritzky was made aware of the state of the horses being grazed at Tui Creek for the Thistolls.

Miss Subritzky sent two complaints, four emails, and had telephone conversations with the SPCA but no-one from there went to visit the horses.

?If they had gone there they would have realised that the complaints were well founded,?

Judge Farish said.

In May Miss Subritzky was asked by Mr White to remove the horses as the farm had been sold and had to be destocked.

Seventeen horses were taken, and two of them had to be put down. All were in poor condition and required veterinary interaction, Judge Farish said.

Miss Subritzky found the owners of the horses and they were uplifted.

Later in July another five horses were removed from Tui Creek and they were the subject of the charges.

On August 14 the SPCA inspected the horses on Miss Subritzky?s property and told her that it was no longer lawful for her to hold the horses as the SPCA were involved with the stock at Emerald Lodge, the stud farm involved. ?

She said she did not return them because of the neglect of the horses, and told them that the horses were never going back to Emerald Lodge to die.

Judge Farish said the official assignee for Emerald Lodge had never asked for the horses back.? ?The Thistolls and Burnham Blood Stock do not own the horses,? she said.

The police prosecutor Sergeant Paul Brocas said Miss Subritsky had a claim of right over the horses until she was told by the SPCA to return them. ?The SPCA are the animal police in this country,? he said.

Judge Farish said Miss Subritzky?s claim of right was a genuine belief that the act was lawful. She had had legal advice and it was more than reasonable for her to assume the horses should stay with her, after the inaction by the SPCA over a number of months, even with pressing evidence the horses were in very poor condition.