RSPCA must pay $1m for destroying cattle, appeal court rules
RSPCA staff destroyed 131 Murray Grey cattle at a property near Warrnamboo
Murray Grey cattle. RSPCA staff destroyed 131 cattle at a property near Warrnambool in 2003 after investigating reports of starving animals. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian
Judge's decision to reject the animal protection group's bid to challenge damages order ends legal dispute spanning more than 12 years
The RSPCA must pay $1m for destroying more than 100 head of cattle after its bid to challenge a damages order was knocked back by the Victorian court of appeal.
Thursday's decision to reject the animal protection group's appeal ends a legal dispute spanning more than 12 years.
RSPCA staff destroyed 131 Murray Grey cattle at a property near Warrnambool in 2003 after investigating reports of starving animals.
Two months later, the cattle owners, James Holdsworth and Heather Ellison, sued the RSPCA, saying the cows were not in a condition that they needed to be put down.
Judge John Bowman last year found the RSPCA staff had acted "hastily and negligently" in destroying the cattle, which included two bulls and three calves. He ordered the RSPCA to pay the owners $1.167m in damages.
The legal battle lasted so long because some issues had been contested "almost to the point of the absurd", Bowman said at the time.
More than $990,000 of that sum was for lost business profit, while the other portion was awarded over a proposed artificial insemination venture that was not yet operational.
The RSPCA argued in its bid for an appeal that it was right to euthanize the cattle as they were effectively abandoned and emaciated when they were found. It also challenged how damages were calculated.
Legal representatives for Holdsworth and Ellison say Bowman correctly calculated the compensation owed to them.
Murray Grey cattle. RSPCA staff destroyed 131 cattle at a property near Warrnambool in 2003 after investigating reports of starving animals. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian
Source The Guardian.
