Former South Gippsland Shire councilor Jeremy Rich has been charged in court with 22 counts of animal cruelty after allegedly failing to care for sheep that were later killed by a blow.
Key points:
- A man charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty is leaving court during the trial of the farm manager
- Jeremy Rich is not supposed to have prevented the blow blow from affecting his herd of more than 2,000 sheep.
- Mr. Rich was repeatedly warned by the magistrate about his conduct in the courtroom
WARNING: This article contains a graphic image.
Mr Rich appeared two hours late to appear at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court hearing on Tuesday and left the courtroom after Magistrate Tony Burns dismissed his objections to the testimony of a witness.
Prosecutor Liam McAuliffe of the Department of Employment, Precinctions and Regions (DJPR) filed five witness statements alleging that Mr. Rich did not cut or soak the animals properly.
The court learned that Mr Rich’s parents owned a farm in Walkerville, south-west Gippsland, which manages about 2,500 sheep and 250 cattle, as well as growing garlic and exploiting a vineyard.
The blow occurs when the eggs of the sheep’s fly, which are attracted to the daggers of the shearing sheep’s wool, hatch and begin to eat the animal’s skin.
DJPR District Veterinary Officer William Hume told the court he attended the farm on several occasions from March to June 2020.
On his first visit, Mr. Rich was in charge of the farm.
Jeremy Rich in Morwell in November 2019. (ABC Gippsland: Jarrod Whittaker)
A video of the first lamb discovered by veterinarians, emaciated, dehydrated and close to starvation, was shown in court.
Dr. Hume slaughtered the lamb and sent Mr. Rich a warning to comply, ordering him to treat sheep affected by flies on the property.
On another visit, Dr. Hume discovered a pit full of up to 50 dead sheep in different states of decay.
Officers say they saw sheep in different stages of decay in the pit. (Provided by: DJPR)
“The photo shows tire marks from a heavy vehicle and sand on sheep carcasses,” read Dr. Hume’s statement.
Magistrate Burns described the photo as “especially troubling”.
Rich chose not to respond to the DJPR’s request for a formal interview.
The former manager speaks
Former Walkerville Farm Manager Craig Pentecost was employed by Mr. Rich from May 2019 until the end of January.
“Everything that was done on the farm had to go before Jeremy,” he told the court.
“Anything over $ 100 had to be approved by Jeremy.”
He said that during his work he had raised animal welfare concerns many times with Mr. Rich.
“When it comes to animal welfare, with the minimum financial contribution we had, we tried to do the best we could,” Pentecost said.
“Animal welfare lagged behind the sale and income of animals.”
The court heard that the cool coastal region of Walkerville does not usually see blows with flies. (ABC News: Kathy Lord)
Mr. Pentecost told the court that the management of all farm operations led to physical and mental health problems that he had never experienced before.
“Trying to get Mr. Rich to understand is what caused my stress levels and my health to slow down,” he said.
“We lost a whole crop of garlic on New Year ‘s Eve due to a hailstorm.
“I basically had a massive anxiety, a panic attack. They took me to the hospital with a blood pressure of 290 out of 190, the paramedic thought I should have had a stroke.”
Pentecost told the court he was hospitalized a day before returning to work, but the stress of work soon returned.
“[Later in January] I had another shift, they put me on a mental health plan and told me I would never go back to work, “he said.
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His wife Lynda Dean took over the management of the farm when her husband was hospitalized.
“I took my kids out of school to help me do the extra work,” he told the court.
Officers found lambs and sheep affected by a blow with flies for three months. (Provided by: DJPR)
Later, they were both fired while on a trip to help Mr. Pentecost reduce stress.
“We were sitting there camping, and Craig got a text message saying come back, clean the house,” he said.
The court saw text messages from Mr. Rich to Mr. Pentecost said the business had $ 244,000 in arrears in anticipated revenue, before considering the loss of the garlic crop.
Rich told the court the texts were “fabrications.”
Mr. Rich left the room before the end of Mr. Pentecost’s rehearsals, giving up the opportunity to cross-examine the former farm manager.
Contempt warning
Magistrate Burns repeatedly warned Mr. Rich about his conduct in the courtroom.
“This is your only warning, your conduct is limited to contempt of court,” he told Mr. Rich.
Mr. Rich was first asked to take off his hat when he entered the courtroom, and was later replaced by a Jewish yarmulke.
“I’m half Jewish, I wear a yarmulke half the time,” he told the court.
When the magistrate asked him where he had been, Mr. Rich said that he had been approached by his parents.
“I was caring for my older parents before they seemed to fight these vexatious charges,” he said.
Rich chose to leave the room after objections to the witnesses were deemed inappropriate.
“Put me in jail, see if I care,” he said before leaving.
“This is not a court that respects,” he said.
The hearing will continue on Wednesday.