Former South Gippsland Shire councillor Jeremy Rich has faced court charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty after he allegedly failed to care for sheep that later died from flystrike.
WARNING: This article contains a graphic image.
Mr Rich appeared two hours late to represent himself at the hearing at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on Tuesday and left the courtroom after his objections to a witness's testimony were dismissed by Magistrate Tony Burns.
Prosecutor Liam McAuliffe from the Department of Jobs, Precincts, and Regions (DJPR) presented five witness statements alleging Mr Rich failed to properly shear and drench the animals.
The court heard Mr Rich's parents owned a farm in Walkerville, in southwest Gippsland, which runs about 2,500 sheep and 250 cattle, as well as grows garlic and operates a vineyard.
Flystrike occurs when the eggs of the sheep blowfly, which are attracted to dags on unshorn sheep wool, hatch and begin to eat the skin of the animal.
DJPR's district veterinary officer William Hume told the court he attended the farm on several occasions from March to June 2020.
On his first visit, Mr Rich was responsible for the farm.
The court was shown a video of the first lamb discovered by the veterinary officers, emaciated, dehydrated and approaching starvation.
Dr Hume euthanised the lamb and served Mr Rich with a notice to comply, ordering him to treat flystruck sheep on the property.
On another visit, Dr Hume discovered a pit filled with up to 50 dead sheep in various states of decomposition.
"The photo shows tyre marks from a heavy vehicle and sand over carcasses of sheep," Dr Hume's statement read.
Magistrate Burns described the photo as "particularly troubling".
Mr Rich chose not to respond to the DJPR's request for a formal interview.
Former manager speaks out
Former manager of the Walkerville farm Craig Pentecost was employed by Mr Rich from May 2019 until the end of January.
"Everything that was done on the farm had to be run past Jeremy," he told the court.
"Anything over $100 had to be approved by Jeremy."
He said during his employment he had raised concerns about animal welfare many times with Mr Rich.
"When it comes to animal welfare, with the minimal financial input that we had, we tried to do the best we could," Mr Pentecost said.
"Animal welfare came second to the sale and the income from the animals."
Mr Pentecost told the court that running all of the farm's operations led to physical and mental health challenges he had never before experienced.
"Trying to get Mr Rich to understand is what led to my stress levels and my health declining," he said.
"We lost a full crop of garlic on new year's night due to a hail storm.
"I basically had a massive anxiety, panic attack. I was taken to hospital with a blood pressure of 290 over 190, the paramedic thought I should have had a stroke."
Mr Pentecost told the court he was hospitalised for a day before he returned to work, but the stress of the job soon returned.
"[Later in January] I had another turn, they put me on a mental health plan and said I wasn't to return to work," he said.
His wife Lynda Dean took on the running of the farm when her husband was hospitalised.
"I had my children taken out of school to help me get the extra work done," she told the court.
They were both later fired while on a trip to help Mr Pentecost reduce his stress.
"We were sitting there camping, and Craig received a text saying come back, clear out the house," she said.
The court saw text messages from Mr Rich to Mr Pentecost which stated the business was $244,000 behind in projected revenue, before factoring in the loss of the garlic crop.
Mr Rich told the court the texts were "fabrications".
Mr Rich left the courtroom before the end of Mr Pentecost's evidence, foregoing the opportunity to cross examine the former farm manager.
Contempt warning
Magistrate Burns repeatedly warned Mr Rich over his conduct in the courtroom.
"This is your one warning, your conduct is bordering on contempt of court," he told Mr Rich.
Mr Rich was earlier asked to remove his hat when he entered the court room, and later replaced it with a Jewish yarmulke.
"I'm half-Jewish, I wear a yarmulke half the time," he told the court.
When asked by the magistrate where he had been, Mr Rich said he had been waylaid looking after his parents.
"I've been looking after my elderly parents before appearing to fight these vexatious charges," he said.
Mr Rich chose to leave the courtroom after objections to witnesses were deemed inappropriate.
"Put me in jail, see if I care," he said before leaving.
"This is not a court of law I respect," he said.
The hearing will continue on Wednesday.
