Eleven lambs crammed into a ford laser, destined to be slaughtered to feed extended whanau of the thieves.
Four men crammed 11 stolen lambs into the back of a hatchback because they were trying to provide for their whanau.
The lambs were pets, and kept for breeding by Idea Services, an arm of IHC that provides services to the intellectually disabled. Ten of the lambs had been hand-fed by residents.
Gino Butler, 21, Raniera Nathan, 36, Nicholas Fido, 21, and Healy Te Are-Paul, 22, grabbed the lambs from their paddock in Bridge Pa early on February 19.
They then passed the animals over the fence, dragged them up a bank and loaded up their Ford Laser.
Police discovered the animals when they pulled the car over during a routine check in Hastings. The lambs, worth a total of $880, were bruised and close to suffocating.
Butler asked his relatives to help him steal the sheep because he was short of money and he needed to provide for his extended whanau staying at his house, the court heard.
Lawyers for the men said it was an one-off incident which they all regretted. All of the men were willing to apologise to the victims through the restorative justice system.
They pleaded guilty to the burglary and ill-treating the lambs at the earliest opportunity.
The instigator of the scheme and youngest of the four, Butler, was sentenced to three-and-a-half months' home detention. Judge Mackintosh reduced his sentence because of his age, remorse, and stable family life.
Fido was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment. He had offended while on bail and was also being sentenced on an assault charge and another burglary charge after he took a laptop from a backpackers.
Te Are-Paul was sentenced to four months' community detention and 80 hours' community work so he could keep his job. He had not offended in four years.
All men were ordered to pay $27.50 reparation to go towards the veterinary bill.
Outside of court, a family member said then men were just trying to be good parents by providing for the whanau.
from:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crim...ing-for-family
A number of points from this (1) that people consider it acceptable to steal someone else's belongings in order to satisfy their wants (I was going to say 'needs', but nah, not going to); (2) they pleaded guilty (good for them on that count, at least) but I'm sure would have been only too happy if they'd gotten away with it; (3) I love the 'willing to apologise to the victims through the restorative justice system'. Once again, sure, because they were caught. Hey an apology is free and doesn't cost anything - not even their pride because it's often empty meaningless words which merely serve a purpose of being seen to 'do the right thing'. As for the vet bill reparation, bloody hell, what a joke. Anyone who takes their animals to the vets knows that that amount would barely cover seeing the vet for that many animals let alone any treatment they might require.
I know times are tough but FFS if it's a matter of cultural pride that you don't ask the extended whanau to assist when times are tough and you simply can't afford to feed them all then get over it. You don't go stealing from others as a quick fix-it.
Originally Posted by Katman
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