A New Zealand rancher has been sentenced for abusing his sheep after 226 of them must be euthanised

The creatures were discovered to be seriously malnourished and sick and were put down

Famer Bevan Scott Tait had confessed in spite of the fact that his guard said he had been experiencing wretchedness and had not gotten sufficient help.

On Monday, he was condemned to nine months home confinement and 150 hours local area work under the Animal Welfare Act.

He will likewise be banished from overseeing or possessing livestock for a very long time.

Mr Tait’s farm in Russock Creek at the southern end of South Island first came to the attention of authorities when inspectors found several dead sheep there in April 2019.

His other animals showed signs of starvation and some were flyblown, suffering from fly borne infections. Some of the sheep had not been sheared for two years.

The inspectors issued the farmer with an order to address the situation, but a later visit in August found that things had become worse.

As a result, 226 sheep had to be put down. The rest of his animals were sold and rehomed to other farms.

“It’s fair to say that this type of offending is rare,” animal welfare manager Gray Harrison of the Ministry for Primary Industries told reporters.

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“Most farmers do the right thing by their animals and Mr Tait’s neglect of his animals was one of the worst we’ve seen for some time.”

Animal farming is a major industry in New Zealand and the country has around 26 million sheep to its roughly five million people.