Wallup farmer Adrian Schwarz fined $15,000 for sheep cruelty
A sheep farmer in Wallup, Victoria, has been fined $15,000 for animal cruelty after failing to provide adequate food and medical care for his flock. Investigations revealed sheep suffering from flystrike, malnutrition, and poor body condition.
Why it matters
The case highlights the legal and moral responsibilities of livestock owners to maintain animal welfare standards under agricultural laws.
A Wallup sheep farmer has been charged with animal cruelty. File picture A Wallup sheep farmer has been hit with $15,000 in fines after being charged with animal cruelty offences .
All articles from our website & app The digital version of This Week's Paper Our entire agricultural news network Continue Adrian Schwarz was fined and ordered to pay $301.53 in costs in relation to four animal cruelty charges which involved 11 individual sheep and a flock of 691 sheep .
Investigations at Mr Schwarz's property commenced in March 2024 following an animal welfare complaint where officers found sheep in long wool, in a bare paddock with no supplementary feed.
Officers witnessed sheep with visible dags, stained wool and suffering from flystrike without treatment during visits.
The officers also conducted body condition scores, hay quality tests and worm burden tests which confirmed mistreatment.
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