Keith Bruce Townshend, 69, and his son Joel Charles Townshend, 39, were sentenced at Ashburton District Court on Monday following a successful prosecution by the Ministry of Primary Industries.
Under the National Animal Identification and Tracing Program, cattle and deer must have NAIT tags and be registered in the NAIT system before reaching 180 days of age or being moved from the farm.
Keith Townshend managed farms in Ashburton and on Banks Peninsula. He was fined $20,000 on two charges under the NAIT Act.
Joel Townshend – who operated farms at Wakanui in the Ashburton district – was fined $27,500 on three charges.
Murray Pridham, MPI regional manager for animal welfare and NAIT compliance, said: “MPI takes NAIT non-compliance seriously.
“The plan provides a crucial tool in the fight against biosecurity breaches such as M.bovis or foot and mouth disease.
“Simply put, when people responsible for animals ignore their NAIT obligations, they put the entire agricultural sector at risk because it affects our ability to do our job: tracking and tracing animals.”
The investigation into Keith Townshend's operation found that 798 cattle were moved from Akaroa to Forks between April and November 2022 without reporting to NAIT.
Keith Townshend also failed to indicate that 1,034 cattle had been moved from Forks to Akaroa between May and October 2022.
Joel Townshend, who took over the lease of a property in Wakanui in 2022, was found to have 1,154 unregistered cattle.