The farmer was also fined $3000 without conviction and ordered to pay costs of $117 after he pleaded guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Friday, July 16.

He was charged for failing to supervise a mob of sheep, failing to shear sheep with excess wool growth, and failing to obey a Notice to Comply.

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Between May and November 2019, Agriculture Victoria officers investigated complaints that the farmer had failed to shear a mob of sheep for more than 12 months.

Two of his sheep were unable to walk as a result of not being shorn. One of these had to be euthanised on humane grounds.

Agriculture Victoria Animal Health and Welfare program manager Daniel Bode said the suffering could have been avoided if the farmer had shorn his sheep on an annual basis, which is the accepted farming practice.

Anyone wishing to make a specific complaint about livestock welfare can contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186 or at aw.complaint@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

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