Dozens of charges against two men accused of killing 30 horses on a Northern Territory station have been dropped almost two years after police started an investigation.
Professional shooters Timothy Playford and Glen Littlechild were facing a range of charges at Katherine Local Court where their matter was before Judge John Neill today.
It was alleged that in 2020, both men were authorised to cull feral animals on Killarney Station – a property twice the size of Adelaide about 600 kilometres from Darwin – but shot 30 pet horses instead.
But today the Director of Public Prosecutions told the court all charges against Mr Littlechild would be dropped.
And a short time later, the court heard that Mr Playford would only face two charges in relation to a horse named Zorro.
He's charged with intentionally or recklessly causing damage to Zorro and committing an act of cruelty to an animal that resulted in serious harm or death.
Drawn out case, lawyers claim
Defence lawyer Ray Murphy told the ABC the charges against Mr Littlechild were probably dropped because there was "insufficient evidence" to proceed.
Speaking after today's hearing, Mr Playford's lawyer, Jon Bortoli, said the drawn out case and had kept the men "in limbo" for too long.
"The only thing left against my client is [police] say they can prove he shot one horse, which survived, and had a wound in his rump and they extracted the bullet," he said.
"They dug up horses that were buried but police can't say who killed them.
"It's been a very long time and [the men] have been kept in limbo pending the investigation."
Mr Bortoli said the investigation had largely been delayed due to hold-ups in getting the evidence analysed.
He said Mr Playford would be contesting the charges.
Workers still 'shattered' at loss
Killarney Station manager Alex Laurisson said that almost two years after the loss of their beloved pet horses, workers were still hurting.
"We are pretty upset and shattered that we lost our mates," she said.
"It's taken a pretty big emotional toll."
Ms Laurisson told the ABC the men were approved to access parts of the property to cull feral animals and were shown areas where they were not to shoot.
She said the dragged out court case was an unwanted reminder of the loss and that she hoped there would soon be closure.
"We have to keep living it every time the case gets deferred," she said.
"It hits us again and again and it's been extremely traumatic.
"We just want closure but it keeps coming up."
The ABC contacted NT Police, which declined to comment on matters before the court.
Mr Playford's case was adjourned until July 13 at Darwin Local Court.
