Big win for WA farmer and pastoral industry

BROOME, Australia - March 31, 2016 - PRLog -- Big win for WA farmer and pastoral industry

Yesterday's decision in the Kununurra Magistrates Court by Magistrate Tavener found merit on only 1 count out of a total of 16 charges originally brought under to the Animal Welfare Act by the RSPCA against WA pastoralist Nico Botha and related company SAWA Pty Ltd.

'It's a David and Goliath win for farmers and pastoralists' says defending lawyer from Salerno Law Cliff Savala, who says the WA pastoralist is relieved to be vindicated of most of the charges.

Any win however, came at considerable emotional and financial toll to the Northern WA pastoralist, who contended with over 2 years of litigation, an extensive 7-day hearing, and many hours in court defending what turned out to be charges without any merit for the most part.

'It's tough for a pastoralist to contend with these sorts of charges, and you cannot ignore the impact it has on their lives. It's also tough considering the alleged acts of cruelty were said to have been carried out by employees of the pastoralist without the pastoralist being present at the time,' says defence lawyer Emma Salerno.

De-horning is a widespread and necessary practice for most pastoralists across Northern WA and a finding that dehorning amounts to an act of cruelty would have a critical impact on the cattle industry.

'With the pastoral industry still recovering from the fallout of the live export bans and widespread drought, the decision marks hope for farmers across Northern WA who often struggle to make ends meet' says Emma Salerno.

Mr Botha and SAWA were initially charged with 16 counts of cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act for alleged acts by Mr Botha's employees on Moola Boola Station in Northern WA in 2012.  By the time the charges proceeded to trial, the RSPCA had withdrawn six of the charges and of the remaining charges, only 1 count was proved.

'This was not just a win for one pastoralist, but a win for the industry as a whole,' says Emma Salerno.

For further comment contact:

Salerno Law
Tel: 08 9169 2206  Email: admin@salernolaw.com.au Web: www.salernolaw.com.au