Two Mid North farmers who pleaded guilty to mistreating livestock have been put on good behaviour bonds and ordered to pay costs to the RSPCA.
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Brothers Desmond and Allan Traeger were charged after RSPCA officers and staff from the Department of Primary Industries visited three properties at Rocky Plains in 2018.
They were charged with the ill treatment of more than 70 cattle and sheep and one bull.
The livestock were found emaciated and malnourished, with some having to be put down, including the bull.
Defence counsel Nick Vadasz told the Elizabeth Magistrates Court about 65-year-old Desmond's ongoing health conditions, including a brain aneurysm, and how the brothers lived an "insular" life, with no electricity, running water, heat or phones on a farm that had been passed down several generations.
They were also enduring a fourth year of drought when the offending occurred, on barren land, with feed and water issues.
"They fed the animals to the best of their capabilities," Mr Vadasz said.
After hours of negotiations outside the court, both men pleaded guilty to four counts of mistreatment.
They had previously been put on a good behaviour bond in 2005 for ill-treatment of animals.
"It's concerning that both of you have relevant prior convictions," Magistrate Christopher Smolicz said.
"The message is that if you have animals, it's your job to look after them, especially in drought.
"Animals are dependent on humans for their care and welfare."
He took into account their personal circumstances and age, but recorded a conviction.
The pair were put on two-year good behaviour bonds of $500 and prohibited from owning animals, except dogs, cats and fowl, meaning they would need to sell off a herd of goats.
They will also have to pay costs of $6,600 to the RSPCA.
The $27,271 from the sale of the surviving livestock will also go to the RSPCA.
The RSPCA welcomed the judgement, saying the Traeger brothers had shown they were incapable or unwilling to provide adequate care to their farm animals.
"There has been a total absence of basic animal husbandry by these two farmers," Head of Animal Welfare Inspector Andrea Lewis said.
"The RSPCA said officers found approximately 50 dead cattle in paddocks across the three properties, while the bull and an unshorn sheep unable to stand were also put down.
"The death and suffering that we all witnessed on their properties when we seized surviving animals was simply horrific."
