A YULECART man who failed to treat his mob of sheep for flystrike which resulted in several sheep dying from the condition, has been handed a significant fine.

Michael Gaussen, 55, appeared at the Hamilton Magistrates Court last Wednesday and pleaded guilty to 12 charges associated with failing to provide proper care and treatment to animals.

The court heard that on April 3, 2021, an Agriculture veterinary officer attended Mr Gaussen’s property after they received an animal welfare complaint.

The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions prosecutor, Scott Ward said upon arrival at the property, the officer observed a mob of mature Merino sheep behind the house and estimated they had 12 months of wool growth, with some sheep laying deceased in the paddock.

The vet officer noticed one of the deceased sheep had extensive flystrike damage to its underbelly and large maggots crawling out of the skin and wool, which led them to believe the animal experienced a slow and painful death.

Mr Ward said the vet called the police and two officers arrived at the scene where further carcases were found across the property, and three live sheep were observed to be flystruck to 20-40 per cent of their bodies.

The vet determined the sheep were suffering considerably and would likely die soon from the disease.

When Mr Gaussen arrived home, he yarded the sheep for inspection where officers collected maggot samples and examined the sheep in various stages of decomposition.

Another two deceased sheep were located on the property, with the vet determining they had passed away in the last 24 hours from untreated flystrike, which had caused them to become heavily infested with maggots.

The court heard the sheep that were still alive were carrying 10 months of wool growth, with the vet determining they needed desperate crutching.

Mr Gaussen was issued with two notices to comply to crutch the sheep and treat them for flystrike.

When interviewed by police, Mr Gaussen admitted to being the owner of the farm and said he had been farming for 20 odd years, however, had let the sheep get in such a poor state as he was too busy with work.

He told police he knew the sheep had been dying and he had not taken enough action to treat the flystrike.

Mr Gaussen’s lawyer, Jessica Dowdy said he owned 30 acres of farming property with less than 30 sheep, and was currently unemployed, but had previously worked as a farm hand.

Ms Dowdy said Mr Gaussen was born and raised on a local farm and this was an isolated incident, as normally he utilised vet services on a regular basis.

She said at the time of the offending, Mr Gaussen had last shorn the sheep in December 2020, as border closures and COVID-19 restrictions had impacted shearer availability.

Mr Dowdy told the court Mr Gaussen immediately complied with the notices issued to him and he accepted full responsibility for his actions and was aware he should have more closely monitored and treated his livestock.

She said at the time of the offending he was working long hours, however, he cooperated with police and did not act with malice.

Mr Ward told the court animal welfare was high on the list of government priorities and Mr Gaussen had failed to promptly take action after noticing the sheep were dying and suffering from flystrike.

Magistrate Nunzio La Rosa said given Mr Gaussen’s farming background he would have been “acutely aware” of the demands of running a mob of sheep and COVID-19 restrictions were no excuse for not caring for the animals.

Mr La Rosa said the issue of ignoring a distressed animal due to being busy was an issue that needed to be addressed by the court.

The court heard Mr Gaussen had no prior criminal history.

Mr La Rosa spared Mr Gaussen a conviction and fined him $4000.