Kojonup farmer Matthew Hettner cops $7500 fine for animal cruelty

A Kojonup farmer from a family with a history of animal welfare issues has been fined $7500 for allowing a pregnant cow to become so emaciated she could not stand and was euthanised. Matthew Hettner — whose brothers Brenton Hettner and Melvin Hettner have served bans from owning livestock, issued in 2011 and 2012 respectively — was fined for one count of animal cruelty in Perth Magistrate’s Court last Friday after a long court battle. The court was told Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development inspectors visited Hettner’s farm in January 2016 after a tip-off. The inspectors arrived to find the cow in body score condition one and emaciated after “starving over a period of weeks”. The prosecution said the cow was “covered in meat ants”, and distressed as she could not rise. The court was told Hettner was a lifelong farmer but struggled to maintain his livestock during a “tough summer” of drought. The defence said other cattle in the paddock were destined to be sold but proved “difficult” during muster in October 2015. Later attempts to muster the cattle into portable yards were hampered by a “time-consuming and difficult” header breakdown. Hettner’s lawyer told the court his client had also been distracted by his ailing mother, Janice, who he was caring for before she died in April 2017. The court was told Hettner drove her to Katanning three days a week for appointments and cared for her at home as she “neared the end of her life”. The defence said other cows in the same paddock had calved with no problems and “all farm animals lose condition in drought”. It also argued the cow “could have gone down due to a lack of calcium” and “may well have recovered”. Magistrate Robert Young said he accepted it had been a “tough season” and Hettner had been distracted with other matters. Mr Young said the cow had been vulnerable and Hettner’s distraction “in conjunction with the difficult situation” led to its emaciation. The prosecution argued a prohibition order be put in place, not to stop Hettner from farming, but to create a “plan” for him to “be checked up on”. But Mr Young said it would be “onerous” and “undue” to impose a prohibition order on Hettner. Hettner’s lawyer said the incident had “been a huge wake-up call” for the farmer, who had “taken professional advice” and now tried to control the time of calving, had repaired fences, and established tagasaste to provide feed year-round.