A Northland farmer has been fined $15,000 for the ill-treatment and neglect of sheep.
Owen Keith Kunicich, from Awanui near Kaitaia, denied charges brought by the SPCA but was found guilty at a defended hearing.
The charges go back to 2006 when SPCA inspectors visited the defendant's farm.
They found about three quarters of a flock of 365 lambs brought onto the property a few months previously, had died or were dying.
The farmer claimed that some of the sheep had been killed by dogs and that others had been stolen.
But a vet testified that the sheep starved because they would not eat long, rank Kikuyu grass and were suffering from internal parasites and fly strike.
Another person is still facing trial on associated charges.
