Before ...

He may have dodged a bullet, but the ‘Johnsonville Shrek’ wasn’t able to escape a team lead by Wellington SPCA.

The renegade, who had been living free for the last two years following his escape from the local abattoir, was finally captured on Saturday.

“It was important to get the sheep into a home before winter, as there was real concern that if his fleece had become wet, he wouldn’t have been able to get up” said Ben Lakomy of Wellington SPCA, who led the team of animal welfare professionals and animal wranglers involved in his capture.

..and after

“Now that we know he is actually a male, however, I’m not sure he would appreciate being named ‘Alison, wonder lamb’” said Ben (just one of the many names that had been suggested by readers of The Dominion Post who had been following the sheep saga).

Despite the burden of his enormous fleece, which was around 5kg in weight and measured about 6m², and the use of very efficient heading dogs, the sheep was still able to give the team the run-around.

The fleece!

“He was certainly a very feisty boy and wasn’t too happy about being handled” reported Ben.

However, since his capture, the sheep has been rehomed at the Huha Animal Sanctuary in Kaitoke and has already made some new friends. And keep an eye out on TradeMe – the fleece might be put up for auction very soon!!

Daz was 20% below is ideal body weight

A Lower Hutt man who intentionally starved his dog ‘to teach it a lesson’, could have been facing a much stiffer penalty if proposed amendments to the Animal Welfare Act had already been in force. 

Paulie Tamati Patu of Naenae was convicted last week after pleading guilty to intentionally restricting the amount of food he gave his dog, Daz, as punishment for chasing a cat. Daz was examined by a vet and found to be 20% below the minimum recommended weight for his breed, age and sex.

After just three weeks in the care of Wellington SPCA, he had returned to his ideal weight.

Daz following just 20 days of treatment

Mr Patu was sentenced to 200 hours community service, ordered to pay costs to the SPCA of $2,704 and was disqualified from owning a companion animal for 10 years. The judge also forfeited Daz into the care of Wellington SPCA.

Greater penalty

The proposed amendments to the Act would see an increase in the maximum sentence for the ‘wilful ill-treatment’ of an animal from three to five years imprisonment, along with a doubling of a fine to a maximum of $100,000.

“While we are pleased with the outcome of this particular case, we hope that the proposed changes will lead to much stronger sentences being handed down to those convicted of cruelty to animals in the future”  Peter Mason, Wellington SPCA’s Executive Director.