A 51-year old shearing contractor, who repeatedly struck a lamb causing its death, was sentenced to 16 months
imprisonment at the Alexandra District Court today.
Christopher John Tredinnick was also disqualified from exercising authority over, or being the person in charge of, any
animal for a period of two years. He was remanded in custody and given leave to apply for home detention.
The Court heard that the offending took place in February this year while he was shearing a lamb at a farm in Oxford,
North Canterbury.
The animal began to struggle and Mr Tredinnick’s shears broke. He reacted by hitting the lamb in the eye with the
tension knob of his shears, fracturing an eye socket. He put the lamb back in the holding pen, only to return and hit
the lamb again, fracturing its skull, and it died from its injuries.
After finishing work, Mr Tredinnick removed the lamb from the shed and put it in the cab of his vehicle. When confronted
by the farm owners who asked him what he was doing he claimed the lamb had suffocated during shearing and that he was
taking it home to feed to his dog.
Ministry for Primary Industry Animal Welfare Investigators went to Mr Tredinnick’s home and recovered the remains. A
post-mortem revealed multiple fractures to its skull, meaning it would have suffered significant pain and distress
before it died.
MPI’s National Manager of Animal Welfare Gray Harrison says Mr Tredinnick ‘s actions were appalling.
“He deliberately caused this lamb to suffer and he tried to hide that fact. Animals need and deserve to be treated with
respect, and Mr Tredinnick fell well short of those expectations.
“This kind of offending by shearers is unusual. The majority are professional and do the right thing. However, our
message for those who deliberately cause this kind of suffering is clear - we will investigate and place them before the
court.”
Christopher John Tredinnick earlier pleaded guilty to one Animal Welfare Act charge – wilful ill treatment of a lamb.