An Auckland man has been fined $7,500 in Pukekohe District Court after being found guilty of cruelty to pigs which he illegally processed and sold.
Anitema Tuungafasi Pulu, 54, was sentenced on three representative charges under the Animal Welfare Act and the Animal Products Act in the Pukekohe District Court following a successful prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Between September 2022 and May 2023, MPI covert investigators went to Mr Pulu’s Pukekohe property six times. They found Mr Pulu killing pigs inhumanely. Â
In November 2022, he was served a notice of direction under the Animal Products Act which prohibited him from killing or selling animals, but he ignored the directive.
“The distress and suffering he caused these pigs was unacceptable. In addition to his animal welfare offences, Mr Pulu neglected to register his business as required under the Animal Products Act,” says MPI director of investigations and compliance support, Gary Orr.
“That means he tried to avoid the important checks and balances in our food safety system which are there to keep consumers safe.”
Animal welfare is everyone’s responsibility and MPI strongly encourages any member of the public who is aware of animal ill-treatment or cruelty to report it to the MPI animal welfare complaints freephone 0800 00 83 33.
More information on the Code of Welfare: Commercial Slaughter
