POLICE COURT.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4481, 18 October 1922, Page 2

POLICE COURT.

DESTRUCTION OF A FOAL. CASE STRUCK OUT. (Before Mr. J. H. Salmon, S.M.) At the local Police Court on Mon-; day last Bill Brunell was charged under section 339, sub-section 28, pf the Crimes Act, that on September 10 last he did wilfully destroy a foal, valued at £5, on Moananui's Flat, Karangahake. Senior-Sergeant O’Gardy conducted the case.for the Police and Mr J. F. Montague appeared for the defendant. The charge as laid was an indictable offence, and the evidence was all sworn and taken down. On Mr Montague’s application His .Worship ordered the Court to be cleared of all witnesses, The first witness called Was a deaf Maori, one Albert Taylor, labourer, pf Moananui Flat, for whom the services of an interpreter had tp be secured. Witness, being duly sworn, said he was the owner pf several horses that were grazing on Moananui Flat, and also had a mare and foal there in September last. There was nothing to prevent the horses wandering towards Karangahake. The foal would be about 10 on 12 months old. Witness remembered the mare and fear being by themselves on September 10. Afterwards, when he came to get them, the foal was not there. He went to search for the foal, and from information he had received he found it towards Karangahake, buried. Tne shoulder of the foal was exposed. He did not pull the fpal out, but dug round it tp ascertain if it was the mare’s foal, it had no head pn it. He did riot see the whole of .the foal’s legs, only about, six inches from the body. He did not give anyone any authority to catch the mare ob fpal. The foal was valued at £5, He kiiew it was his foal, because it was not running with his mare, and people told him it had been killed. Witness believed the foal was a filly ofl light bay colour. He could swear the\foal found was his foal.

To Mr Montague: Moananui Flat is not fenced towards Karangahake. A total number pf three horses and the foal were running pji the flat. Horses do not. run wild on the Flat; they are all quiet horses. To Sergt, O’Grady: The mare was running by herself for about two weeks before he found that the foal was dead.

Henry William Fisher, aged 13, pf Karangahake, sworn, said- he remembered the Sunday afternoon and s=aw accused, up at Karangahake. His brother Edward was with him, also Fred Poole and Peter Grant, and others. Accused asked witness to accompany him to Crown Hill tp catch a horse. They went down by the back of Morans There were four horses there, and accused asked witness tp drive the black one and the foal, which he was going to catch. Accused, who was riding, gathered the horses up and drove them into the back of Mbran’s, He set a spare between the post and the hedge in the paddock. The snare was made of rope, with a big loop, and fastened tp a post. The boys then drbve the horses down, also the foal. While the boys were driving the horses accused was behind the post beside the hedge, where the snare was. The foal got caught in the snare, and accused knelt on the foal and tried to get the rope off, but it was too tight, and before he could get it .off the foal lost its breath and fell on him. He got the rope off, and waited awhile to see if the foal was breathing, but it was dead. Accused sent one for a spade to bury it. Accused dug a hole near where the foal was killed and the foal was put into the hole. The hole was too small to hold the foal, and witness was sent away by the accused for an axe, and accused chopped the foal’s head off, and broke its two front legs, and then they buried it. The snare was set for the black horse, and hot the foal. On September 17 witness was down at Williams’ and saw accused there, and he said that if witness was asked which horse ac-. cased was trying to get, he was to say the black bne, and the foal got in. Witness said all right. Accused said he did not want (he foal, and if he caught it in the snare be would give it away. Accused wanted the black horse, and was trying to catch it. After, the foal broke its neck accused did not tny tp catch the mother. Witness did not know the owner of the mare and foal. He had seen them running about a week before. To Mr Montague: Witness said he remembered having a conversation with, accused at the theatre before going to catch the horjse. Ohly McWilliams and witness were there. He told accused .that there were some wild horses running at Karangahake, and 'he asked accused if he would go but a,nd catch them, and he said “yes.” The horses were running on the road, and on. the hills, tpo. The snare was only a piece of loose rope. Accused said he would catch the horse. Witness knew it was the black one he wanted to catch. The foal only moved a little after it was snared, and then it stopped. He was quite sure it was dead before hie cut its head off and buried it. To Sergt. O’Grady, witness said he thought the hprses were wild because they were running with Neil’s horses. He hand never seen any wild horses. Accused cut all the other horses away from the foal. The other horses galloped away. Accused told him to drive the foal into the snare, beside which accused was standing. The other horse had broken away. To Mr Montague: The boys chased the other horses away. Accused did not do it, Edward Fisher, 11 years, swbrn, said he lived with his parents at Karangahake. He remembered accused coming tp the house one Sunday. His brother William ,was there, too, and accused asked him to come and help catch a black horse. This was in the afternoon. Accused was riding. They all went away together from the house to the back of Mbran’s on Moahanui Reserve. His brother rounded up the horses. Accused was on his horse Availing for the horses to come in. They drove .the horses to the back of Moran’s, which wa,s fenced. Some pf them jumped ovep the

fence. The foal was then in the paddock by itself. He was standing at the gate. Accused made a snare with rope and put it in the gap on the track by the.post, and the snare went over the foal’s neck. Accused, was behind the hedge close by the snare. Accused told them to go up and chase the foal down. They did so, and the foal ran into the snare. It fell over, and before accused could get the rope off it was dead. Witness then went home. His brother told him to bring the spade, and he took it to ibis brother and . then went home again. JHe was not there when the foal .was buried. He had seen the mare and foal ruhning about prior to that Sunday, some five or six days before it was killed, just grazing with several other horses of McNeil’s. The horses used to come down by their house. He did nbt knpw the owner. The was a bay one.

To Mr Montague: The horse was always pn the road. He never saw it in. a paddock and had never tried to catch it. The horse was running round for two or three weeks.

John Hamilton, farmer, of Karangahake, sworn, said he remembered Sunday, September 10. From what he heard he knew a foal belonging to the Maori Harry Taylor. . He was passing and saw where something had been buried. He did not actually see the foa.l buried, but went on the following Monday, and it had then been uncovered by the Maoris. He did not see the head, which had been cut off. He did npt examine the legs. He could pnly see part of the body, and recognised it as the foal that he had seen running with the mare. She was a dark chestnut. The mare and foal were running orThis property three weeks before. He saw the mare on the Monday, but no foal, and was quite satisfied that the foal he saw buried belonged to the mare. Toe foal was worth about £5. It .was- out pf a good mare, and was hot a “Maori weed.” There were a few blackberries. The foal looked as if it had been dragged from the fenced section further up. He told the Maoris where he thought the foal was. He went with them and was present when the Maoris removed the dirt. The foal was not buried deeply. The foal would be from 10 tb 12 months old. He did not know of any wild horses, and he had been there about 12 years and had never gone out after wild horses.

His Worship said it appeared to ►him fipm the evidence submitted that the case as laid under that particular section pf the Crimes Act could not stand. He was not prepared to say that the Police could not bring a charge of cruelty to animals, but ihe would leave that tp them. Also it may be possible to bring a charge under some other sectioh of the Act, but in the meantime the case would be struck out.