A Taranaki farmer and livestock agent copped a $15,000 fine after MPI caught him instructing a worker to swap ID tags on disease-infected cows, allowing them to be sold at saleyards under false histories.
44-year-old Simon Mark Payne received a sentence in New Plymouth District Court on one charge under the National Animal Identification and Tracing Act, the Ministry for Primary Industries confirmed after prosecuting the case.
In the August 2024 Stratford incident, Payne allegedly instructed a worker to swap NAIT tags on four cows infected with Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD), a contagious disease.
Gray Harrison, MPI’s central animal welfare and NAIT compliance manager, alleged Payne knew the animals were infected but ordered new NAIT tags fitted to sell them with a clean history.
“On the same day Mr Payne sent the animals to the saleyards in Stratford, MPI received a phone call alleging the unlawful removal of these NAIT devices,” Harrison said.
“One of our NAIT officers intervened and stopped the animals from being sold. This avoided the potential for them to infect animals at another farm.”
Harrison said Payne’s actions “were both deceitful and self-serving with a total disregard for the potential effect – spreading a contagious disease from animal to animal.”
“This case sends a strong message to others tempted to get around the law.”
BVD impacts about 80% of New Zealand’s dairy and beef herds, leading to reproductive losses, higher disease susceptibility, slower growth rates, and reduced milk production.
The disease persists in herds through persistently infected animals, which spread it via direct contact or across boundary fences.