A SOUTH Australian mayor neglected his sheep while in a “dark place”, plagued with financial and physical problems, a court has heard.
South Tatiara district council mayor Richard Vickery pleaded guilty to 61 charges of ill-treating an animal after more than 400 unshorn sheep were found on his Coolami property, in the state’s southeast, with severe fly-strike, foot abscesses and lice.
The RSPCA raided the property in October 2009 after he ignored their repeated warnings for him to shear the sheep.
Vickery’s lawyer Brian Austin told the Adelaide Magistrates Court today his client had been devastated by the case.
“He takes this prosecution very seriously. It has been devastating for him personally,” Mr Austin said. “Not a day goes by that he does not think about it.
“This is going to be a matter Mr Vickery holds in his head and heart forever.”
Mr Austin said that in 2009 Vickery found himself alone on the farm and unable to cope, with his wife working to deal with the couple’s burgeoning financial problems.
“He must have been in a dark place … shame, frustration, helplessness and hopelessness he found himself in,” he said. “His back was such he was unable to crutch his sheep himself.
“His sons were absent and he then relied on contract labour which for the first part of 2009 he couldn’t afford.”
Mr Austin asked the court to not record a conviction for his client.
“A conviction would see him being precluded from a certain component of his civic duties,” he said.
Mr Austin cited Vickery’s guilty plea, excellent character and the loss of income he had already incurred from losing his sheep and stepping down as mayor briefly.
Mr Austin said Vickery’s financial and physical problems had eased, with one of his sons returning to help on the farm.
“It was an isolated matter … it is not going to occur again,” he said.
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Rural mayor fined for mistreating sheep
Loukas Founten
Updated 10 Aug 2011, 9:34am
The Mayor of the Tatiara District Council in South Australia’s south-east has been fined $20,000 for mistreating and neglecting more than a thousand sheep at his property at Keith.
Richard Vickery, 55, was originally charged with 86 counts of ill-treating an animal but pleaded guilty to 61 counts after RSPCA inspectors found 1350 sheep in various states of ill-health at his property in 2009.
Hundreds were seized and taken away for treatment and at least 14 had to be put down.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court was told most of the sheep had been suffering from fly strike and many were infested with lice and maggots.
In sentencing, Magistrate Alfio Grasso said Vickery had bought the property in 1979 but by 2009 was in dire financial circumstances.
He said Vickery was severely embarrassed by his financial situation and concerned about his reputation.
“Your reputation was paramount to you at a terrible cost to the sheep, which you had a duty of care over,” he said.
“You never expressed any concern or sorrow for the suffering of the sheep.”
“It seems your concerns were somewhat self-centred.”
“Your pride and personal circumstances overwhelmed you (resulting in) a dereliction of your duties.”
Magistrate Grasso said Vickery had stood down as Mayor of Tatiara because he was upset about the charges he was facing but had since returned to the position after being re-elected last year.
Vickery was facing a maximum penalty of a $20,000 dollar per charge as well as up to two years in prison.
The RSPCA’s Simon Richards says the single fine handed to Vickery is a suitable punishment.
“It sends a strong deterrent to the community that they need to look after animals, particularly those in a rural setting” he said.
“The Government doubled penalties for cruelty to animals in 2008 and that was certainly a message from the Government to the community that it’s not tolerated so we hope that outcomes like this will serve to act as a deterrent.”
Vickery has also been ordered to pay the RSPCA’s legal costs.
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Tatiara District mayor Richard Vickey admits abusing sheep
May 30, 2011
THE mayor of a regional council has struck a plea bargain over ill-treating sheep so badly that they appeared to have third-degree burns.
Tatiara District mayor Richard Vickery was due to stand trial in the Adelaide Magistrates Court today.
The RSPCA had charged him with 85 counts of ill-treating and neglecting sheep on his Keith property.
Following negotiations, however, the trial was called off and Vickery pleaded guilty to 61 counts – the remaining 24 were dismissed.
Dyson Hore-Lacey SC, prosecuting, said 1350 sheep were unshorn and most severely fly-struck, in some cases so badly it led to the death of the animals.
He said 14 sheep were “immediately euthanised” when RSPCA inspectors and vets attended the property in November 2009.
The authority had previously given Vickery two warning notices to shear the affected sheep or have them seized, the court heard.
“Fifty per cent of the adult sheep and 70 per cent of the juvenile sheep were scouring and heavily dagged,” Mr Hore-Lacey said.
“There was an oversupply of rams so there was also uncontrolled breeding.”
It took two days and a combination of authorities including the RSPCA, veterinarians, Primary Industry department representatives and police to manage the issue on site.
Dr Mark Groves, who attended the scene, said most sheep had maggots and lesions on their skin under their fleece which he predicted hadn’t been shorn for up to two years. He said some sheep were biting at themselves as a sign of irritation and distress.
“It was the worst state of sheep I have ever seen in my career,” he told the court.
“‘(There were) lots of maggots and lots of flies … (with injuries) the equivalent of second- and third-degree burns.”
The court will hear further sentencing submissions on a later date.
source: http://www.news.com.au/national/tatiara-district-mayor-richard-vickey-admits-abusing-sheep/story-e6frfkvr-1226065837531
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Animal-cruelty mayor Richard Vickery at Tatiara refuses to quit his role
Tatiara mayor Richard Vickery leaves the Adelaide Magistrates Court during his animal cruelty trial with supporters.
RESIDENTS of a rural council are revolted their mayor refused to quit after animal cruelty convictions.
Richard Vickery was voted back into office by his fellow councillors on Tuesday, despite a petition signed by 847 residents urging them not to.
Tatiara has about 7000 residents, while 1745 people voted at the last council elections.
The Tatiara Petitioners’ Committee is vowing to hold a secret ballot for the community at a public meeting later this month – in a bid to pressure Mr Vickery to step aside. In May, he pleaded guilty to 61 counts of ill-treating and neglecting sheep on his Keith property and was fined $20,000.
The charges were only made public after local government elections were held last November.
The court heard the RSPCA had previously given Mr Vickery two warnings to shear and treat affected sheep, while a vet told the court the sheep were in the worst condition he had seen in his career.
Councillors voted 6-4 to return him to office at Tuesday’s ballot.
Tatiara Petitioners’ Committee spokesman John Emery said the group was also requesting a meeting with Local Government Minister Russell Wortley in an attempt to have him intervene.
He said the district felt disappointed that the majority of councillors did not listen to the community sentiment in the wake of his conviction. “The community are incensed that he didn’t step aside after the animal cruelty charges,” Mr Emery said.
Mr Vickery, who is also chairman of the South-East Local Government Association and a member of the LGA’s State Executive Committee, defended his record and said he had no plans to step aside.
“I’ve dedicated the past decade to public life and I’m a strong ambassador for the Tatiara,” he said.
“I haven’t had a single person suggest to me that I do anything other than a professional hard-working role and I intend to keep doing that.
“The council has re-elected me and it’s my duty to do the job to the best of ability.”
Councillor Diana Penninent said the issue had damaged the credibility of the council.
“It’s dividing the council and the residents are losing their respect for not only the mayor but the whole council,” she said.
“The community is totally divided; it’s so bad. But we have followed due process and as a council we have to get on with the job and try and work together … and try to bring the community back together.”
Cr John Ross, who supported Mr Vickery’s re-election, was critical of the residents’ group and their actions. “The judgment of the court inflicted a huge cost both financially and emotionally,” Cr Ross said.
“Ironically, those promoting the petition do so claiming the publicity from the court case reflects poorly on the district, but by their actions guarantee the matter will stay alive in the media.”
Tatiara District chief executive Rob Harkness said it was business as usual at the council.
“The council has got a lot of things to do so hopefully everyone will move on and start achieving what we want to achieve,” he said.
Under the Local Government Act, only elected members convicted of offences under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act are ineligible to serve on council.
Mr Vickery’s offences fall under the Summary Offences Act.
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Sheep abuse mayor Richard Vickery ‘punished enough’, court hears
July 05, 2011
TATIARA Mayor Richard Vickery has already been punished for ill-treating 1000 sheep by a $40,000 financial loss and the “trashing” of his reputation, a court has heard.
Lawyers for Vickery today said he should not have a conviction recorded as it would impede his position as mayor but not cost him the top job.
Vickery appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court for sentencing submissions.
He has previously pleaded guilty to 61 counts of ill-treatment of an animal.
Today Brian Austen, for Vickery, said his client was devastated and ashamed by the “isolated” incident which had exposed his financial hardship, depressive episodes and health problems to his family and the wider community.
“Everything (Mr) Vickery came to stand for statewide has been undermined and close to trashed,” Mr Austen said.
“It is a matter he will hold in his head and heart forever, it is a matter he will have to live with.”
The financial loss suffered was estimated at $40,000 through sale of the wool and meat of the sheep seized by the RSPCA and costs paid to the RSPCA for feeding and treatment.
Mr Austen said Vickery could only be precluded from his position as mayor if convicted of a major indictable offence, which these charges are not.
However, a conviction would have an impact on his position on several Federal Government boards, including those that oversee regional development and natural resources management.
“(It would impact) the confidence the community would have in their mayor and the confidence the community has in him as spokesman,” Mr Austen said.
Vickery stood down as mayor in 2009 when the charges were first laid but was re-elected to Council by public vote last year and then nominated as mayor by his fellow elected members.
The RSPCA found about 1000 sheep on Vickery’s property at Keith that were suffering from fly-strike some with severe maggot infestations and skin damage and had to immediately euthanase 14.
Mr Austen said the sheep had missed one shearing through a combination of financial issues, physical health limitations, lack of support and shortage of shearers.
The sheep were left unshorn for about 18 months.
Magistrate Alfio Grasso remanded Vickery on continuing bail to be sentenced at a later date.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/sheep-abuse-mayor-richard-vickery-punished-enough-court-hears/story-e6frfkp9-1226088187549
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Tatiara Mayor Richard Vickery accused of illegal land clearing
Posted 27 May 2014, 2:36pm
A mayor from the south-east of South Australia has gone on trial facing three charges of illegally clearing native vegetation.
Adelaide Magistrates Court heard Richard John Vickery cleared a large area of his property at Shaugh in 2008 so he could lease the land to an onion farmer.
Prosecutor Sam Whitten alleged Vickery cleared the land in contravention of the Native Vegetation Act.
He says chemicals were used and all seeds and stumps removed, leaving the land sterile.
“The land had approximately 90 species of native vegetation, supporting a high diversity of native plants and animals,” the court was told.
Mr Whitten says the land had been cleared in the past but in a way that allowed native vegetation to regrow.
“What happened in 2008 was of an entirely different scale and extent,” he said.
“By completely removing seeds and vegetation and using chemicals the soil was effectively sterilised. The native vegetation is unlikely to ever regenerate.”
Mr Whitten says Mallee stumps removed might have been decades old.
“The prosecution accepts the land was suitable for use of rough grazing but was not suitable, due to the presence of native vegetation, for intense cultivation,” he said.
“Mallee stumps were pulled up that could have been decades old.”
Vickery is mayor of Tatiara District Council and in 2011 was fined $20,000 for mistreating hundreds of sheep on his land at Keith.
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Tatiara mayor Richard Vickery Adelaide Magistrates Court trial delayed again over illness
March 17, 2014
A MAGISTRATE has questioned whether a mayor’s stomach illness appears to worsen when due to face court after a two aborted trials on charges of illegally clearing native vegetation.
Tatiara mayor Richard Vickery, who was fined $20,000 after pleading guilty to 61 counts of ill-treating and neglecting sheep on his Keith property, in 2011, was due to face trial in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on the latest charges today.
The latest charges allege Vickery, 58, illegally cleared a block of land near Shaugh, in the state’s southeast, between February 2008 and March 2011.
But for the second time in five months, the four-day trial, was abandoned because of Mr Vickery’s ill-health.
“So he is running a farm but he happens to be most symptomatic when he is due to stand trial,” Magistrate Susan O’Connor said today.
In the 2011 case, the court heard the RSPCA had given Mr Vickery two warnings to shear and treat affected sheep, while a vet told the court the sheep were in the worst condition he had seen.
In his defence, Mr Vickery said he had been unable to treat the sheep appropriately because of his bad back and he did not have the money to pay for somebody to manage the sheep for him.
Timothy Mellor, for Vickery, said his client was undergoing tests and may require surgery at some stage but was expected to be fit to stand trial.
Magistrate ordered medical documentation be prepared to explain Vickery’s absence and the possibility of establishing a video link from hospital be explored if he was unable to attend the next trial date in May.
Seems the MOP fails to understand how the RSPCA operates or could it be someone else if pulling this strings? Whatever it is, just because one of the leading welfare organisations does not and will never support live export does not mean their prosecutorial arm needs Mazza poking his nose in affiars he knows nothing about.