No conviction over dead dogs

A young farmworker prosecuted for the death of his dogs on a ferry crossing had been acting in what he thought were the canines’ best interests, was heartbroken at their deaths and has had suicidal thoughts since the incident, a court was told.

The man, in his 20s, pleaded guilty to a charge of ill-treating an animal and was sentenced in Napier District Court yesterday.

The man, who had interim name suppression, was on an evening sailing of the Aratere Interislander ferry from Picton to Wellington on February 11 last year.

His seven medium-to-large sized farm dogs were kept in a metal dog box on the tray of his ute on the ship’s vehicle deck.

When the sailing ended, he went to his vehicle and found three of the dogs dead, three suffering severe heat exhaustion and one unharmed. The dogs suffering heat exhaustion had to be put down.

He pulled the dogs from the box and began tending to them. Someone’s filming of this led to an investigation by the SPCA and charges were laid.

The man’s lawyer, Richard Finn, told the court the man had a passion for farming and animal husbandry, and he loved his dogs. ‘‘They were part of him and who he was,’’ he said.

Expert evidence revealed that moisture in the dogs’ coats had created a ‘‘greenhouse effect’’ inside the dog box, which was compounded by the vehicle being stationary without air flow.

The man had chosen an evening ferry crossing because it would be cooler, and had taken the dogs for a walk and swim in a river before boarding the boat, thinking that it would help keep them cool.

He had not used the ship’s kennels as he believed the dogs were more settled and comfortable in the familiar surroundings of the box.

The man sought a discharge without conviction due to a significant mental health condition and the serious impact that a conviction would have on his career.

He also sought final name suppression.

SPCA lawyer Emma Pairman said the society was neutral on the issue of name suppression but, if a conviction was entered, a fine of $3000 would be appropriate, as well as reparation of $2300 for veterinarian fees and a contribution to legal costs.

She noted that cases of animal cruelty evoked visceral responses and defendants were often targeted on social media.

Judge Gordon Matenga, who was provided numerous reports and affidavits, said it was clear he was ‘‘a young man who took great care with your animals’’.

It was clear the man’s journey was carefully planned with regular stops, and that the offending was unintentional and could be best described as ‘‘careless’’.

The man had no previous convictions of any kind and ‘‘it was clear you were heartbroken at the loss of your dogs’’.

On balance, the judge accepted that the consequences of a conviction were out of all proportion of the gravity of the offending, and he granted the application for discharge without conviction.

He ordered the man to pay the $2300 vet bills and $1000 towards the SPCA’s costs.

On the issue of name suppression, Judge Matenga referred to the recent Court of Appeal decision on the Labour youth camp case and the impact of social media. He granted the application.