The judge-alone trial was heard before Judge Peter Davey in June, with his reserved decision released this week.
The court heard the Reids operated as stock agents, buying cattle for farmers in both the North and South Islands.
Under MPI requirements, anyone responsible for livestock must be registered as a Person in Charge of Animals (PICA) and have a NAIT account to track cattle in their possession.
The Reids had both.
William Reid was responsible for purchasing cattle, while Kathryn Reid handled administration. She established the company’s NAIT account using the couple’s Ruakākā beachside property, a lifestyle block of less than half an acre.
“When Mr Reid bought cattle, Mrs Reid would transfer the cattle onto their NAIT account until they were transferred to the farmer who bought them,” Judge Davey said in his decision.
“This meant that the NAIT system recorded the cattle as being kept on their lifestyle block, but the cattle were never physically there at any time.”
Kathryn Reid told the court she administered cattle movements on and off the account after receiving email notifications from MPI.
William Reid was the stock agent for Northsouth, buying and selling cattle and transporting them north. Photo / NZME
A key issue for Judge Davey was whether the location information entered into the NAIT system was false.
Northsouth argued the information was not “materially false” because the process improved traceability. Judge Davey rejected that argument, finding the recorded location was clearly incorrect because the animals were never kept there.
He ruled that even if the property was being used as a transit point, it was still intended to function as a NAIT location.
Kathryn Reid acknowledged there were occasions when farmers failed to transfer cattle off the account as they were supposed to.
By March 2023, 291 animals remained registered to the property. Judge Davey described that information as “clearly incorrect”.
He found the information entered into the system was materially false, meaning that element of the charge had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
However, when it came to the third issue of the charge, whether Northsouth knew the information was false, the case swung in their favour.
The Reids maintained they intended cattle to remain on the account only briefly while in transit.
The online NAIT registration process required users to select from options including farm, lifestyle block, import/export transitional facility, quarantine area, zoo or game estate. There was no option for a stock agent.
Kathryn Reid selected “lifestyle block” and recorded that no animals were held there.
“She explained that the farmers were supposed to get the cattle off the account and to a reverse movement when they came off the truck,” the decision said.
Judge Davey ruled she had “simply made a mistake” and found the system did not adequately cater for their type of business.
MPI’s evidence showed 88 recorded cattle movements onto the property involving 1816 animals, and 62 movements off the property involving 1802 cattle.
However, MPI was unable to provide evidence of the individual movements.
During the trial, MPI officer Rikki Solomon was unable to give a clear answer on whether stock movements should have been recorded while the animals were in transit.
“He further explained he did not believe that stock agents who did not have a location where stock were held needed to have their own NAIT number. They could simply provide the destination number,” Judge Davey said.
Judge Davey found that while Kathryn Reid had attempted to comply with the legislation, MPI had not proved she knew the information she entered was false.
“As a result, MPI has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the company, Northsouth, knew that recording movements in this way was false in a material particular. Accordingly, the charge against Northsouth is not proved and that charge is dismissed,” Judge Davey ruled.
Judge Davey also dismissed the individual charges against William and Kathryn Reid.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.