Gabby Clezy New Ceo RNZSPCA replacing Andrea Midgen

Good afternoon Gabby

I am a former police prosecutor and former Private Investigator and have through events become involved in what I call corrupt practices of the RNZSPCA .

On this web site you will find the history of my involvement and the incidents which gave me cause for concern . I note that in the news release https://www.spca.nz/news-and-events/news-article/newceogabby you took on the role as CEO from 5 September

I also note that you are currently Trustee of the Waitemata Community Law Centre and Mentor University of Auckland Business School Women’s Mentoring Programme. I hope that this means that you know a thing or two about company structure and incorporated societies .

I note that the opening statement in the press release makes a very vital misrepresentation it states “The appointment marks the first incoming CEO since the charity’s national amalgamation in 2017, and the first appointment in the role in over seven years.”

I take issue with the word amalgamation . There was an amalgamation of assets but other than that the various entities which existed 7 years go were not amalgamated but rather dissolved .

A good place to start is with the constitution of the RNZSPCA see here as you will see on the final three pages there were nearly 40 branches and 7 member societies . Each had their own board constitution, these organisations were never ” amalgamated ” for more explanation please see my complaint to the minister with regards to revision of the suitability of the RNZSPCA to hold approved status under the animal welfare act see here

When the One SPCA formed former members of the branches and member societies were assured that they could become members of the new incorporated society . The new rules require applications to be made annually and each year the membership lases and requires renewal .

This brings up the question as to who holds the reins how many people are now in control of the organisation which used to be a national organisation supported by many members through its branches and member societies if all the members cease to exist who decides who can be a member ?

My complaint to the minister has resulted in MPI directing the investigation back to the RNZSPCA and it appears to me that Andrea who was in a position to provide answers may have left a gap and questions unanswered .

In my request to the Minister I included a number of official information act request ,I have just received the response MPI , it proves that MPI very much lack oversight of what is happening in the RNZSPCA . see here and the attachments here mou 29 November 2021 and here Systems Audit Team report


The Audit Report in itself raises a number of questions and the response by MPI illustrates the fact that there appears to be no accountability to the public by way of OIA . The following is my further oia to MPI and raises issues in particular with the Wallace Glover matter which has been very badly managed and will prove to be evidence of corrupt practices on the part of RNZSPCA if it is condoned.

my new OIA is as follows

Thank you for  your response  OIA 22-0654  I  note the audit report raises some issues  which  bring about a further request under the OIA    copy to ministers for MPI 

First of all there is no key to abbreviations    and  we need  to know what  the   various abbreviations are   short for  please provide a key to the   audit report which  explains the   abbreviations  

I note that the  audit is for the Royal New Zealand Society for the Protection of Companion Animals (RNZSPCA).

The approved organisation is   Royal New Zealand Society for the Protection of Cruelty to  Animals (RNZSPCA)

If we cannot get the name  right how can we ever sort out the issue that the  RNZSPCA  claims to have  amalgamated  its  branches and member societies  when in reality they have ceased to exist  and a large membership has been replaced by  a small group of  persons  who have  total control of the organisation  and  the     associated statutory powers

Please provide  any documents which  have been provided with regards to the restructure of the RNZSPCA

Could you please provide  copies of the documentation which was referred to for the audit  and provided for this audit   I note that the  Performance and Technical Standards for Inspectors and Auxiliary Officers 2021 released  during the audit which would suggest that the new standards were assessed and   that the audit   has been on the perception relating to   policy as opposed to reality in compliance and practice

Surrender

 “Persons in charge of animals are given 24 hours to consider surrendering an animal and many elect to keep it.”  Against a back drop of threats of prosecution   and  lack of  any transparency this  gives a very good opportunity  for inspectors to obtain   high value  animals   which  do not necessarily find their way back to the SPCA. There  is a need for  proper recording of dogs seized   and  body worn  cameras should be reviewed to ensure that there is no coercion .

This was highlighted in the Wallace Glover  prosecution, it    is  a massive incentive for any one being visited by the SPCA to hand over animals on demand or suffer their fate .   Their dogs  were disposed of  before charges  were filed    and  also puppies were unlawfully  disposed of and MPIs reaction is to  say  get a lawyer.

Please advise what policies  provide  for the  protection of  the public  against an inspector making up  an allegation and using the threat of  prosecution to coerce surrender of an animal  .  

What provision is ther for e  overseeing  the manner in which these  surrenders are being conducted ?    should there be a  review process by the senior inspector  ?  an appeal process ?

OIA

The SPCA is not subject to  the OIA  and   proof of the lack of  compliance with the MOU is the fact that   our request for information resulted in    being advised that the MPI did not hold the information  yet the MOU states “

MPI’s nominated lead will consult with SPCA’s nominated lead in responding to requests under the Official Information Act 1982 that concern information about SPCA. “

With respect to that clause  I ask  that my  OIA is revisited and  any information requested  which is not in the hands of  the MPI is   obtained  from the SPCA through  compliance with that clause.

Please advise by way of OIA  if  with respect to my request  that the prescribed consultation  occurred  or not  and if not why not.

Prosecution  .

 It would appear that the Solicitor-General’s Prosecution Guidelines are being  ignored    and  while there are policies and  MOU’s  no one is   actively  being held accountable to the  requirements of these documents  and there is no  consequence for totally ignoring the requirements.

As such the public have no protection at all   and as  can be seen in the Wallace Glover case   these private prosecutions have been passed off to the court as  being crown prosecution   this effectively means that the organisation with a  few people on its membership   and holding legislative power   also has the ability to use crown solicitors and the crowns   name  contrary to  statutory requirements of the  criminal procedure act .

Please advise if the MPI  Lawyer has been asked to review the  ability of the SPCA  to secure  crown solicitors and represent the  prosecution as a crown prosecution ? this aspect  directly related to accountability to the public  and  the rule of law.  This is   at all time a private prosecution and unless taken on through the proper channels as a crown prosecution   it  does not qualify as a crown prosecution   .

Currently there  is  no requirement  for the SPCA  board to be involved in the    consent  for prosecution, this appears to  fragment the statutory powers   away from the organisation  and totally leave the inspectors in the hands and control of those who  also function as revenue  generators  within the charity .

Taking High value dogs is more lucrative than baking cup cakes  and the  door to corruption is wide open without   accountability to an outside  body.

Search warrants

The audit states 2.7.4.1 Search Warrant Procedure “outlines the grounds for applying for a search warrant, please ensure that a copy  of this is provided .   It must be remembered at all times that his is a private organisation which employs persons   as inspectors  who appear  not to have any  independent   oversight or accountability .

In sharp contrast with this  I was a police officer and then a private Investigator   as a private investigator I had no legislative  powers  only a lot of accountability  , SPCA inspectors   have   coercive powers and apparently no   real oversight  or accountability  and   are believed   by the court due to the position they hold.

Private investigators have high accountability to the private security licencing authority    Please advise if  oversight of   animal welfare inspectors to     a similar statutory body has been considered  and if not why not  .

Exhibits

The dogs which were  taken in the  Wallace Glover matter  are  prime evidence of lack of evidential  chain of evidence.  The Body worn cameras  show the inspectors  declining to  scan the microchips of  the  dogs  and taking unidentified  dogs into  custody . some seized  dogs were later   claimed to be  un microchipped and were microchipped at the  SPCA .  these dogs   were all microchipped   why were they re microchipped  or  was it not  the same dog  and why did some dogs  go to the pound for  two weeks before being seen by a vet  when the claim was that the animal was taken because it was ill .

By way of OIA  could you please advise if the auditor Mr Burke  was aware of this case    and why these factors have not bene included into the audit      as this should be basis for recommendations at the very least  if we cannot    learn  from the past the same doors to corruption  will remain open 

Posted by: transparencynz | July 27, 2022

Time to review the RNZSPCA approved status

Monty greets his captor this champion pup was given a body score of 3/9 and was seized because he was tied to the fence because he was being groomed for a show when the SPCA arrived

https://vimeo.com/721651790/E3458_E3457_BCU_A1a045_2017-10-12_222929000_1035447929.MOV

To the Ministers of MPI

Request to the Ministers Based on the evidence below:-

I request a full investigation as to the suitability for a private organisation to hold coercive public law enforcement powers.

The evidence suggests that the structure and management of the new SPCA is not suitable in the interest of the public for it to hold the law enforcement powers of Section 121

Please note I have provided a summary and the full

evidence is attached with active hyperlinks

In the interest of transparency I will be publishing this request at the  link below  and  dispersing it  to media and interested  persons

PDF is found Here http://www.transparency.net.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Request-for-review-of-suitability-of-the-RNZSPCA-to-hold-approved-organisation-Status.pdf

Full text below

d.parker@ministers.govt.nz

d.oconnor@ministers.govt.nz

s.nash@ministers.govt.nz

m.whaitiri@ministers.govt.nz

Official Information Act request and request for review of compliance of the SPCA Section 123 (1) (a)

To the Minister of MPI 

Request to the Minister Based on the evidence below:-

 I request a full investigation as to the suitability for a private organisation to hold coercive public law enforcement powers.

The evidence suggests that the structure and management of the new SPCA is not suitable in the interest of the public for it to hold the law enforcement powers of Section 121

I have provided a summary with the full text below

Please note that evidence is attached through active hyperlinks  

Summary

  1. The RNZSPCA has undergone transformation and has a different composition and constitution to the organisation which was given the transitional approved organisation status under the Animal Welfare Act.
  2. This document examines the criteria for an approved organisations and seeks an investigation  due to the closure of regional centres and conduct of inspectors.
  3. We draw on two examples the closure of Waipukerau and the prosecution of Volkerson Kennels
  4. Change of structure the objects of constitution have changed from preventing cruelty to animals  to giving animals a better life.
  5. The membership has changed from a wide base of members selecting their representatives to a small group of persons who annually review membership applications for the current financial year.
  6. The assets were held by local committees run by volunteers now all the assets are vested in a corporate body which sees volunteers as superfluous.
  7. The business structure has grown to include many other ventures including investment and insurance. The equity has grown in 3 years by $40 million, yet centres which run at a loss are being closed down and sold up depriving communities of readily available Animal Welfare  Services.
  8. The persons involved in the organisation and its subsidiaries are predominantly accountants  many share a common background and the current chairman and the first  One SPCA chairman  are involved in multiple common private business ventures.
  9. The  member society, Auckland SPCA has taken over the RNZSPCA and disposed of the smaller centres by tactics which may not stand scrutiny. 
  10. The CEO is a jill of all trades and appears to act independently of the Board.
  11. Locals have been disenfranchised and all former members are now no longer members except for the honorary members who don’t get updates.
  12. The organisation which differs vastly from its historical structure trades on the reputation of the old incorporation.
  13. This private enterprise is not subject to the Official Information Act and lacks transparency.
  14. MPI has oversight of the legislation and has documentation in place which appear not to be  updated in the agreed time frames and the RNZSPCA is not held accountable to the breaches of the rules.
  15. The author of the Animal Welfare Act noted in a submission to parliament in 2013 “There are only 2 countries in the world that depend on a private organisation, the SPCA, to act as the enforcer and prosecutor of Animal Welfare Law — New Zealand and the 7 states and territories of Australia.”
  16. Senator Malcolm Roberts in 2021 noted “Much of RSPCA’s revenue is gained from seizing animals from their owners under the rouse of falsely claiming that the animals are not being treated appropriately. A common feature of the RSPCA’s approach involves the RSPCA harassing owners who appear to have fewer means and lack the ability to challenge the RSPCA in court.”
  17. This was a full year after I had assisted in filing a complaint with the police with regards to the theft of pedigree German Shepherd Dogs by the SPCA . Barbara the owner is now 83 and had been breeding Champion German Shepherds since the 1960s. Her kennel was the Number 1 Champion kennel in 2017.
  18. This matter which has  just been determined in the court is a travesty of justice winning included
  19. 39 visits to the kennels alleging that there were too many dogs.
  20. Coercing the handover of 5 dogs.
  21. Ordering them to build new kennels but seizing 15 dogs before the kennels were completed within the time frame specified.
  22. Failing to follow procedures for alleged noncompliance with Section 130 notices which had not expired. 
  23. Failing to record Microchip numbers.
  24. Failing to properly diagnose the dogs on site.
  25. Use of a SAFE activist vet to select and remove dogs.
  26. Using a coercive interview to encourage surrender of the dogs induced by no charges confidentiality and being left enough dogs to breed from.
  27. Tampering with evidence and scenes.
  28. Using a fake search warrant and cloning their computer and taking diaries and personal notes collated for their defence for Disposal Hearings.
  29. Disposing of the dogs before charges were even filed.
  30. Filing charges   over a year after having seized the dogs.
  31. Failing to give the dogs proper care and refusing to allow the defendants vets to give an independent assessment.
  32. Failing to comply with the technical standards. 
  33. Using the Crown Solicitors as Pro Bono counsel who represented the prosecution as a Crown Prosecution resulting in the decision reading the Queen V .
  34. Withholding evidence and vital witnesses.
  35. Changing the prosecutor from Auckland SPCA to RNZSPCA.
  36.  Breaching the Bill of Rights, Criminal Procedure Act noncompliance with the Solicitor Generals’ Guidelines and the technical procedures.
  37. And much more
  38. The lack of compliance with the law, the procedures and standards have brought into question  is the criteria which must be complied with.
  39. Section 123 allows for the Minister to revoke approved status if the Minister is satisfied that 
    1. (a) the organisation no longer meets any 1 or more of the criteria set out in Section 122; or
    1. (b) the organisation has failed to comply with any condition imposed under Section 122(2); or
    1. (c) the organisation has failed to comply with any condition imposed under Section 122(5).
  40.  Based on the evidence collated Section 122 (1) (a)-(e)  are not complied with due to
    1. That despite its constitution the purpose of the organisation appears to be financial  rather than in the interest of animals .
    1. The management of the organisation is not from members up but from Directors  down , i.e.  the power is always with the Directors they pick and choose the membership not the other way round as has been customary for incorporated societies.
      1. The  financial arrangement are that profit appears to be more significant than animals.
      1. There is no transparency or accountability to the public or even to MPI.
      1. The Board does not appear to be involved and the functions have been delegated to an employee the CEO.
    1. The organisation aligns itself with Activist and Animal Rights Group and appears to offer their inspectorate services to outside organisations.  There has been   infiltration of the organisation by persons from activist groups such as SAFE.
    1. Inspectors appear to be working without supervision of the Board.
    1. The inspectors make up the rules and do not act in an ethical legally defendable manner and use unscrupulous means to win in court.   This is evidenced by their evidence in court compared to the Body Worn Camera footage which we have  uploaded for transparency.  

Text and Evidence 

  1. The Animal Welfare Act 1999 is administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
  2. The Minister is defined in Section 2  as the Minister of the Crown who, under the authority of any warrant or with the authority of the Prime Minister, is for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act.
  3. It appears uncertain therefore which one of  the Ministers  administers the Animal Welfare Act and has the legal powers under Section 122 and 123  (1) (a).
  4. I am therefore addressing this to the following Ministers 

Hon David Parker – Minister for Oceans and Fisheries

Hon Damien O’Connor – Minister of Agriculture, Biosecurity, and Rural Communities

Hon Stuart Nash – Minister of Forestry

Hon Meka Whaitiri – Minister for Food Safety, Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare)

  • The RNZSPCA is an approved organisation under the Animal Welfare Act by virtue of Section 189.
  • Approved organisations exist by virtue of the criteria in Section 122.
  • Section 123 allows for the Minister to revoke approved status if the Minister is satisfied that 
    • (a) the organisation no longer meets any 1 or more of the criteria set out in Section 122; or
    • (b) the organisation has failed to comply with any condition imposed under Section 122(2); or
    • (c) the organisation has failed to comply with any condition imposed under Section 122(5).
  • I hereby request a  full ministerial investigation into the RNZSPCA with view of having the powers revoked under Section 123.

Changed Structure, Governance and Monopoly of the RNZSPCA

  • In 1999 when the organisation was approved for the purposes of the Act, it was governed by this 1995 constitution  found at this link .
  • The  rules were changed in 2015 to this constitution and again in 2017 to this one and again just recently 21 June 2022  to this.
  • Through amendments  to the constitution the objects/purpose of the society has changed and the powers of  the board has been extended .There  now appears to be few ,if any common grounds between the 1995 constitution which was in effect in 1999 and the constitution which has recently been adopted.
  • Another massive difference is that in 2017 there were 7 member societies and some 38  branches, now it appears that there is a closed membership with a few unidentifiable persons in  total control of the assets and powers.
  • Previously each of those member societies and each branch was a separate legal entity with its own membership and assets.
  • Originally the member societies and branches were each able to vote for a member of the RNZSPCA National Council. Governance in an apparent democratic manner whereby the members had a voice through their elected members.
  • Confusingly all of the separate legal entities used the term SPCA,  and  bequests meant for a branch or member society were often mistakenly left to the Auckland SPCA who held the trademark “SPCA”  and were able to claim all bequests and therefore became disproportionately wealthy.
  • In 2016 there was a drive for One SPCA,  this was headed by Andrea Midgen the CEO of the Auckland SPCA and Gordon Trainer the Chairman who was a former Ernst and Young accountant.
  • By various means, some compliant with the legislation and constitutions, others not so, the RNZSPCA acquired all the property and assets of its former constituent members and branches.
  • The RNZSPCA itself was swallowed up by the Auckland SPCA and all those who remained with the RNZSPCA were compelled to hand over their assets and were dissolved by Andrea Midgen  CEO of the RNZSPCA see here  
  • The members were assured that they would be members of the RNZSPCA but after a year or so no approach was made to the former branch members or members of the member societies  and these people have not been members since, this was reflected in the constitution at point 6.1.c.
  • Assurances made at the meetings to get branches/member societies to relinquish their Centres and assets was on the pretext that they would get financial support from RNZSPCA and some of the wealthier Societies to ensure a distribution of national income. Instead, they are being closed down and liquidated.
  • One honorary member noted the CEO as stating that the Society did not need members and volunteers were too much trouble.
  • Effectively the SPCA has gone from a volunteer organisation whose sole focus was animal welfare to a privately run society with many business arms such as
    • Op shops
    • SPCA Certification  for products
    • Retail partner with petdepot.co.nz 30% shareholder through SPCA SOCIAL ENTERPRISES LIMITED a subsidiary of The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Incorporated
  • SPCA Investments Limited owned entirely by The RNZSPCA and has the assets of the former Auckland SPCA Trust transferred into it. The trust itself  had a name change to the SPCA Trust see original deed here  even though the name was changed, nothing else is recorded in the Trust Deed as having been changed and it therefore makes it uncertain as to who the beneficiaries are.
  • In 2021 the Charities Register showed the Trust having a distributed  $34 million  into the SPCA subsidiary company  see accounts here   and the constitution of the  SPCA investment limited here  and whose directors are
    • Gordon TRAINER the inaugural Chairman who’s Linked in profile records his background and involvement with the SPCA
  • 1988 – 2005 Tax Partner Tax Partner Ernst & Young
  • 2003 – 2009 Treasurer Auckland SPCA
  • 2012 – Jun 2013 Board Member and Chair of Audit and Finance Committee RNZSPCA May
  • 2009 – Oct 2017 Chairman SPCA Auckland ·
  • May 2016 – Present Board Member SPCA New Zealand
  1. David Patrick BRODERICK current Chairman also a banking man who  shares close business relationships with Trainer including but not limited to
INVESTUS CAPITAL LIMITED
INVESTUS CAPITAL UF LIMITED
INVESTUS EQUITIES LIMITED
SPCA INVESTMENTS LIMITED
AINMHITHE PROPERTIES LIMITED
BLUE BOX MAINLAND LIMITED
SPECIALIST METALWORKS LIMITED
    INVESTUS CAPITAL UF LIMITED
    INVESTUS EQUITIES LIMITED
SPCA SOCIAL ENTERPRISES LIMITED
SPECIALIST METALWORKS LIMITED
  1. Patrick Gerard O’REILLY Fund and Asset Manager   see linked in profile
    1. Mark Wynon VICKERMAN Barrister and member of the Auckland SPCA  Trust with  Bob Kerridge  Don Bendall.
    1. Benjamin D’arcy PALMER another former Ernst and Young man and former Board Member of the Auckland SPCA Trust  see linked in profile former Director of the Auckland SPCA Board member, Deputy Chairman, Audit and Risk Committee Chairman External Reporting Advisory Panel
  2. Gordon Trainer and Andrea Midgen have been the visible driving force for the One SPCA but in this analysis it appears accountants have now taken charge of the RNZSPCA where in the past it was run by volunteers and people  with genuine concern for animals .
  3. The latest constitution of the RNZSPCA which came into effect 31 Dec 2021 still refers to the  member societies and branches, despite the fact that they were dissolved in January 2020 see here , this shows that the AGM last year did not fully inform its members of the status of the  member societies and branches and in amending the constitution failed to consider the change of structure .
  4. CEO who appears to do all the filing with the Incorporated Society Registrar   sought  Dissolution  on behalf of the member societies  and branches who through various  and not so transparent  means  had transferred their assets to the RNZSPCA. 
  5.  As a result of dissolution , the only members of the RNZSPCA   are full members and honorary life members.
  6. Andrea Midgen as CEO has acted in what appears to me to be a gross conflict of interest in having placed herself on the Executive of many branches and placed some in “administration “ to encourage dissolution and having placed societies in administration took control away from their respective members.
    1. Searching the Charities Register https://register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/Search  shows her on the Board of no less than 20 former branches 
    1. She is also named as an Officer with Broderick and Trainer on another Trust  operated by The SPCA The WB Sheath Foundation a Trust set up in 1994  the deed is  here 
    1. Like Gordon Trainer, she was formerly Auckland  SPCA and the evidence is that the wealthiest SPCA swallowed up the smaller ones and is disenfranchising provincial animal welfare efforts and   took over control of the Umbrella group .
  7. At a meeting of the Central Hawkes Bay SPCA recently, locals expressed their concerns that the assets which they fundraised for, volunteered for, are now being sold off by The RNZSPCA with no formal agreement in place to provide services to that community .The  services and assets  that the locals have worked hard to build up, are undemocratically removed.
    1. This meeting by the SPCA was fronted by two SPCA employees and nothing has been heard from the Board and there appears to be no resolution of the Board or consultation with the Board and the concerned people of Waipukerau
  8. Effectively the communities are being asset stripped though a non-transparent undemocratic process and leaving the area devoid of services.
  9.  Central HB SPCA was established in 1989 and built, operated and fundraised for, by the community.  Communities like theirs will now be left without services and an investigation needs to be conducted on how that is working out in other parts of the country.
    1. It was of note that this former branch which had a significant number of members  now had no members at all on the RNZSPCA and had therefore no voice.

Membership

  • The new constitution is of concern ,since the dissolution of the branches and member societies, there are only two groups of members honorary and full members.
    • According to the Rule 7.5. the duration of membership for Full Members Is the period of the Financial Year (or any part of the Financial Year during which the person becomes a Full Member).
    • 7.6. Each Full Member of SPCA must annually renew his or her membership with SPCA,
  • The financial year concluded on 30th June, it effectively means that on 1 July,  the only members which exist are the honorary members and since the AGM is set to take place 6 months after the commencement of the new financial year there cannot be a Board unless the Board is comprised of honorary members. 
    • This raises the  question as to   how  new members  are accepted  and if they are accepted   who accepts them ?
  • Honorary members who I have spoken to all advise me that they never hear from the SPCA and although they are entitled to attend the AGMS, they are not notified either of the meeting coming up or been provided with the minutes. 
  • It follows that if a group of persons have made themselves  Honorary Members, then they will enjoy perpetual succession and have total control, the organisation at the exclusion of others as members need to be approved. 
  • The all-inclusive member driven organisation of the past is now potentially a selected club of a  select few, without any oversight from a wide base of  concerned persons .
  • The total equity of the RNZSPCA according to the 2021 Charities  Annual Return is $112,405,000 up from $ 72,925,000  year ending 30 June 2018 source
  • While the equity has risen by a $40 million in 3 years,  the Waipukerau SPCA which handed its assets over on the belief that they would be supported, is  being liquidated because it had operational costs of  $7,000.
    • To many it would appear that the RNZSPCA is about $ and not about services to animals.
  • The RNZSPCA still has the same name, legal powers it has vastly increased assets, but the governance, transparency and accountability have changed dramatically.
  • The RNZSPCA trades on the reputation of the past and has replaced the salt of the earth  volunteers fighting for animals with accountants who specialise in investments and cost cutting measures.

MPI

  • MPI has oversight of the legislation it has MOUs in place with the SPCA but it would appear from  correspondence that they have little control or oversight of the approved organisations. Note again that the MOU is not signed by the Board but by Andrea Midgen CEO.
  • Approved organisations came into being through the 1999 Animal Welfare Act.
  • Neil Wells who was the former Head of the Auckland SPCA drafted the Animal Welfare Act.
  • History shows that he was frustrated by the election process of officers and a democratic process meant that there was no certainty of remaining at the helm of an organisation.  This is recorded in press clippings
  • Wells drafted the legislation to facilitate his own undeclared business plan that is why this Act is so favourable to approved organisations   see his business plan here  .
  • With his own business venture in mind, he became an “independent “advisor to the select committee and when the Act became law, he applied for approved status under Section 122 in what this  application
    • New Zealand  became  a world  first in  giving private organisation legislative powers  compare this  to   the British SPCA   where their act limits the power of private organisations  and increases oversight of their conduct.  
  • The application  for  Mr Wells private  Approved organisation was made in the name of  a fictional entity , there was no signed Trust Deed , and the Trust which formed  6 years later and   posed as the  approved organisation , had never been incorporated.
    • The application was made in the name of an alleged legal entity and was regarded as such by MPI and the Minister on the basis of  assurances  which were  never  fulfilled
    • Evidence also shows that MPI  is totally confused between  what a charity is  and what a legal person is  .
    • Legal persons  are either  born or   created through  statute  and by registering as   a body corporate .
    • The  “ applicant “ The Animal Welfare institute of New Zealand (AWINZ)was not registered under any legislation  and  obtained a back dated trust deed in  2006 consisting of persons  who had never met , held assets or passed a resolution .
  • The fact that AWINZ was not a legal entity and had no legal existence in that name is conclusively proved by the fact that Neil Wells  said so in his minutes of the  first ever recorded meeting in  2006  three weeks after the incorporation of another trust with the identical name.
    • The other trust was incorporated at a time when the online register was in its infancy and  AWINZ could not be located on it
    • By registering the identical name   and being successful  it was proved conclusively   through section 12 and  15 of the charitable trust Act , that no other legal  entity by that name existed
  • MPI had not checked the existence of the Animal Welfare Institute of New Zealand( AWINZ)   and had not properly advised the Minister.
    •  Even after the lack of legal existence of the “approved organisation “  was brought to their attention AWINZ was allowed to continue to administer  animal welfare law for a further 4 years despite  the proof in paragraph 5    that it did not exist .
  •  A recent OIA request addressed to Ms Wallace proves  that  MPI has no idea about  legal entities and their structures.
  • An unregistered Trust cannot own property and cannot sue or be sued. It follows that it  cannot then hold  public law enforcement powers . Evidence of this is in Family trusts  which own property  the  name is not  that of the trust but of the members which comprise it .
  • This is evidence of MPIs  lack of ability to supervise the provisions of the legislation and   confirmed in current day events by the replies from MPI to my complaint of  8 June 2022     received  from them on 29  June and  19 July      and confirms that MPI has no control or direct supervision over   the approved organisation .
  • In short, the RNZSPCA of old   with is assets  and reputation  has been acquired by   a  select group of people  who now have control of   private law enforcement powers   while  disenfranchising the  very people  who  have  built up that reputation and wealth

The  MOU  

  • The MOU signed by Andrea Midgen CEO with MPI raises other issues.
  • The  funding agreement  dated 2019   is  found here  again signed for by  Andrea Midgen.   The  SPCA contract manager is listed as Tracy Phillips who resigned November 2020  just after I sent her this  email  and this one  
  • The  MOU requires prosecution to be carried out subject to the prosecution guide lines  in the Volkerson prosecution( which I  will cover later )  it appears that this document was almost entirely disregarded even to the extent that this private prosecution transformed in to a Crown Prosecution without any acceptance by the Solicitor General  under section 187  and was recorded by the judge as if it was a crown prosecution .
    • Therefore a small group of individuals without government over sight  can act as if they as a government entity .
  • Wells, the author of the legislation  wrote this to parliament in his submissions in  2013 ” There are only 2 countries in the world that depend on a private organisation, the SPCA, to act as the enforcer and prosecutor of Animal Welfare Law — New Zealand and the 7 states and territories of Australia  Indeed, it is the private nature, lack of public accountability, and meagre funding that has resulted in such inadequate performance of the SPCA as enforcers and prosecutors, according to commentators.
  • While the MOU Point 11.2.  provides for consultation on OIA request, the  SPCA is not subject to   OIA’ and the questions raised are invariably left unanswered. As evidenced in this reply

The Legislation

  • I am not a lawyer, but my working  knowledge with  the  Animal Welfare Act  raises  questions of  conflicts with the Bill of Rights  . We must remember that the Act was drafted by someone who intended to  to use it for his own business plan and therefore  enforcement  favoured the   approved organisation and not the public .
    • Serious issues arise with  section 13 of the act   this means that if an Inspector  charges you with an offence on subjective grounds,   you have 7 days to file a defence.
    • Section 136 A  allows for the disposal of your animals to be disposed of if proceedings have been commenced but not yet determined: or have not yet been commenced but are intended to be commenced within a reasonable period.
      • In the case of Volkerson disposal  was completed  even before charges  were formulated   or advised  what they were suspect of having committed
      • In view of section 13  they were deprived of this  defence   and  lost their dogs on the allegations  which were proved  on a civil level  and  not related to charges.
      • The dogs were disposed of to the Auckland SPCA which also meant that when the charges were known the owner of the dog was not able to locate the dogs and get  independent verification if the dogs referred to were her dogs .  She was also denied the right  to seek an independent vet’s assessment.
  • Section 127 allows an Inspector to enter any property ( not a house or marae) to  inspect an animal , this Section was totally abused in the case of Volkerson  with 39  inspections over  a 2 year period  .
    • This contrasts with the UK  legislation where the  Inspector must apply to a justice of the peace   for the right to  go on  to the property to search for  dogs
    • In New Zealand it is a free for all and on the evidence of the events at Volkerson the  rights were abused  and  even involved inspectors  searching  for   dogs  owned by Volkerson   at  a boarding kennel  where some  were temporarily  boarded. Source  summary of facts
  • All those  matters appear to conflict with the rights under the Bill of Rights Section 127 and 136A conflict with Search and Seizure section 12  .and  Section 136A and 13 also have implications on  section 25 Bill of Rights Minimum Standards of Criminal Procedure.
  • The conflict with the Bill of Rights is one issue  but the other is that the persons who are exercising the powers under this legislation are doing so without any apparent  supervision and  apparently for profit.

Criteria

  • The criteria  for an approved Organization is set down in Section 122 Animal welfare act  and the Minister must, before declaring an organisation to be an approved organisation for the purposes of this Act, be satisfied, by the production to the Minister of suitable evidence, that
    • one of the purposes or roles of the organisation concerns the welfare of animals or a particular species of animal.   
  1. This no doubt reflects the changes in the legislation as quoted from Wells   “The original Act of 1999 was a radical departure from conventional anti-cruelty laws which New Zealand and most Western countries had relied on for over 100 years. The Animal Welfare Act 1999 introduced the first animal welfare legislation which established a statutory duty of care and placed statutory obligations for a standard of care based on the Five Freedoms — freedom from hunger and thirst; discomfort; pain, injury or disease; freedom to express normal behaviour; and freedom from fear and distress
  1. The Volkerson prosecution takes this one step further  to include   the  subjective  opinion that ther animals could  suffer  due to the owner having too many dogs
  1. This subjective enforcement  means that no one is safe , it is the opinion of the inspector,   and the  animal is taken for being too  fat  too thin, not groomed properly not having a fluffy toy   or  being frightened when  its space is invaded by strangers .
    1. Parents  will  know that a child could have a treated skin irritation which looks bad but is not painful.  And many would have picked up children from their  cots when the babies  nappy has had a  full blow  out,  if someone else had been there it would have been reported” her child was lying in a cot covered with faeces”.
      1. The enforcement at Volkerson was all subjective and based on a snapshot in time   To have a dog on a short leash temporarily is  legal, to have them there for days or weeks is a different matter.  Time is relevant and time was not reported. See the judges comment about the  dog which could not  lie down then   look at the  body camera footage about 10 min in
  • As for the dogs reported to  be slipping in Faeces.  Take some dogs in a kennel which are about to be cleaned and introduce strangers   with poles the  panicked dogs, will run around.  This is normal behaviour for a dog which feels  threatened and in running about will not look where it is going.  This is then reported that the dogs did not  display normal behaviour and slipped in faeces.
    • This does not mean the dog was abused or suffering  it means the dog was reacting  to a large influx of uniformed people on their patch. 
    • When the One SPCA was formed it gave the assurances as stated on its web siteIn November 2017, SPCA centres around the country unified to become a single entity. The key reasons for this change were to better provide a consistently high standard of care and service for the animals, no matter where they are, and to ensure that all SPCA centres are supported through the sharing of resources and skills.
    • Centres are now being closed because they are not lucrative, as is the case of the Waipukerau centre. Wells in 2013 reported that there  were 47 centres now we are down to 33 and the volunteers who gave the organisation credibility have been disenfranchised.
    • Regions are left vulnerable and reliant on the locals to set up another voluntary organisation due to the nearest SPCA being over 60 Kilometres away.
    • Actions speak louder than words and it appears that with $35 million in   assets a community is asset striped, and volunteers and residents  disenfranchised. 
    • With the lack of support of ordinary members, the local community and a local executive is now not able to have oversight of what is occurring in their district the purpose must be more than words on a document
    •  A Press release  from 2017   show that the intention of the one  SPCA  as Quoted by Andrea Midgen “We will be able to create a stronger SPCA Inspectorate and we will have one strategy and one voice.” “Ms Midgen said the move to one SPCA is not about creating a centrally-controlled organisation, or closing any SPCA centres.”
      • we have  a vast increase in inspector numbers  and   the 45  centres in 2017  have been reduced to 33 ,
    • The accountability arrangements, financial arrangements, and management of the organisation are such that, having regard to the interests of the public, the organisation is suitable to be declared to be an approved organisation.
      • Accountability arrangements, The RNZSPCA is now a private super  organisation with an undisclosed number of members, We have not found one person whohas been accepted as a member of the new SPCA and suspect that there are just a few people who are “the Incorporated Society” they hold the power and control exclusively and   without public involvement.
        • Due to lack of oversight of the inspectorate, there appears to be a general disregard of the Rule of Law and the Bill of Rights this was illustrated throughout the recent prosecution of Barbara Glover and Janine Wallace (Volkerson )  as raised in my  complaint to  MPI  which hasnow been  sent on to the SPCA  to investigate themselves.
          • Is this not a gross conflict of interest by the SPCA ?
          •  And are they going to admit to their own noncompliance with the Bill of Rights and the Animal Welfare Act ?
          • Does this not prove that there is no independent oversight of a private organisation with public law enforcement powers ?
        • The Inspectors themselves appeared to be working unsupervised.  In the case of Volkerson  the Inspectors were under the supervision of a Chief Inspector  Greg Reid who has also left the SPCA, all were employed by the Auckland SPCA and used Auckland SPCA resources.  The dogs were disposed of to the Auckland SPCA.
        • There is no evidence of the RNZSPCA ever being involved or consulted other than Chief Inspector Tracy Phillips who acted  credibly and saw the return of 5 dogs which had been unlawfully taken in 2019 . She advised that she had no knowledge or involvement of this prosecution and left soon after.
        • Anita Killeen, a former Director of the Auckland SPCA and a lawyer  set up a Pro Bono Panel in 2017 and it appears that this Pro Bono Panel kicked into action  but not as described in the law talk

“We are very grateful to have a significant commitment of Pro Bono litigation support from Kayes Fletcher Walker, the Office of the Manukau Crown Solicitor. The firm support the work of the Pro Bono Panel in a number of ways including by acting as instructing solicitor, by providing legal opinions on individual files as to whether the test for a prosecution is met, as well as appearing in court to assist Panel members on cases. The Pro Bono work that Kayes Fletcher Walker provides is a significant factor in the ongoing success of the Panel initiative and contributes to ensuring the consistency and high quality of SPCA Auckland’s prosecution files.”

  1. It is clear that the Crown Solicitors role was to
  2. support panel members
  3. acting as instructing solicitor
  4. providing legal opinions as to whether the test for a prosecution is met
  5. appearing in court to assist Panel members
    1. Instead, the Crown Solicitor’s Office had the Crown Solicitor herself appear and intitule the Private Prosecution as a Crown Prosecution even representing evidence as Crown Prosecution.
      1. See correspondence with the Crown Solicitor as below
        1. Request to Acting Crown Solicitor to correct a miscarriage of justice
        1. Privacy act request To Gareth Kayes Acting Crown Solicitor
        1. Open letter to Luke Radich of Kayes Fletcher Walker
  • The issue of a Crown representation for a private organisation has  also been brought to the attention of the   Attorney General we have yet to hear back from him
    • An OIA with regards to Crown Solicitors representing private clients   is here  and defends the use of the Crown Solicitors representing the SPCA.
      • As they say the evidence is in the cake and what came out of the     hearing before a former Crown Law Judge was that she intituled her decision as The  Queen V , showing that she was successfully misled by the lawyers  that this was a crown prosecution .
      • Even in 2013 Wells submitted to Parliament that there was a lack of public accountability ,the change between now and then is that the   structure has changed dramatically and the funding from  Government has increased to over $2 million per annum.  If there was little accountability then there is even less now.
      • Wells pointed out “Legal commentators maintain that the enforcement and prosecution of Criminal Law (Animal Welfare offences are crimes) are the responsibility of the state and not private organisations that have no public accountability. “ ….  ‘And Judge Garland in R v Balfour said that “the SPCA was effectively standing in the shoes of the Government.”  The concern is that in a government  prosecution there are accountability provisions.  With the RNZSPCA  there is no accountability and  as we see in the Volkerson  prosecution .
      • Without oversight of the Inspectors  the Volkerson kennels had 39 official SPCA visits between 28. July 2017 – 16.1 December 2019, dogs were officially taken on just 2 of those occasions.5 Dogs  were unlawfully seized through  2019, 5 dogs were surrendered  under  coercion  and there I s evidence of  dogs being taken and brought back  .  In other  words  it was a free for all .
      • As demonstrated in this response for Official Information the SPCA is not covered  by OIA and the information we sought was not available from MPI and was not disclosed as part of the pretrial disclosure.
    • Financial arrangements, with over one hundred million equity,  the organisation is winding up small communities’ assets and placing them in   funds which are managed by the former Chairman and the current Chairman who are business associates in Investment and Development companies.
      • In the Volkerson prosecution ,High value dogs were targeted for  seizure some of these imported blood lines were valued at over $250,000 each these dogs were Champions in 2017.
      • There is no evidence that the dogs seized were brought into the Auckland SPCA or if they were switched out in transit.
      • These dogs were selected by the Inspectors based on their pedigree. There was no abuse of these dogs and the vet reports show the lengths they went to find neglect or abuse, it is reflected in the  prolific x raying of the dogs including pregnant ones and Greg Reid’s comments that their angle was “intentionally breeding from dogs with known genetic disorders”   something which was not reflected in the ultimate charges which only related to the date on which the dogs were seized.
      • The pedigree papers were obtained for these dogs and the Dog Control Officer was sent to the kennels before the raid  to ensure that the dogs were microchipped and identifiable.  Yet when the  dogs were seized Inspectors Plowright and Davis are recorded on the SPCA body worn cameras as saying that they will not be recording microchip numbers the   body  worn camera  footage is  available here  the vet asks  at 11.44.57   “do you want to check chips at this point”  and both Davis and Plowright say  “No
        • This is crucial as without verifying the dogs from time of seizure there is no assurance that the same dogs have been  referred to throughout.
        • This is chain of evidence and is vital in a prosecution to prevent one dog being swapped out for another.
        • This also brings up Privacy Act issues with regards to the sharing of information of the Waikato Dog Control with a  private organisation. 
      • The  body  worn   camera  footage  shows that the Inspectors on arrival had already decided to take dogs and right at the beginning  their language proves that the selection process is not about   animals suffering.
      • The SPCA fund raised specifically on the Volkerson prosecution  but has not disclosed how much was raised in this campaign and how this was   used.  The Crown Solicitor was a Pro Bono Panel member and no accounts have been produced but it was reportedly their best fundraiser ever.
      • There is no transparency as to the  income of the RNZSPCA as it  now has a closed membership and no accountability for the funds raised by way of donations and bequests.
      • Nationwide there are complaints and concerns that  neglected and abused   mongrels  are not  getting any attention . Meanwhile  pedigree   champions  are seized  due to their blood line.
    • Management of the Organisation
      • Management appears to be solely in the hands of the CEO who is a Jill of  all Trades  fundraising, winding up the various member societies see here  and appears to be $ driven with the various campaigns that she runs for funds, she acts like a Board member  and there appears to be no Board control over the Inspectors.
      • Evidence would  suggest that she  sits on the board  and  acts  with unbridled  delegation of  their  authority  
      • There Is no proper oversight of the Inspectors, this is shown by the   way that the inspectors were able to come in and take an animal which had only weeks before won Champion Awards.
      • The prosecution of Volkerson was filed in the name of fictional organisation Royal Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (  Auckland)  and no consent was given by any board for prosecutions  this   video confirms that the prosecution by the Auckland SPCA  was supervised by Greg Reid a Chief Inspector for the Auckland SPCA ( He has now left )  and the decisions were his.
      •  In this   video REID states that he is happy for the women to retain the other dogs but despite this the RNZSPCA nearly five years later and without returning to the property (except in 2019  to return unlawfully seized dogs),  has directed their lawyers to ban the ladies from owning or controlling dogs for 9 years.
      • We must question how the RNZSPCA  a separate legal  entity to the Auckland SPCA became the Prosecutor.  The lack of accountability and the ability to circumvent legal requirements is  an abuse of process  by this private organisation .
      • It appears that the Board has little input or oversight of the running of the organisation which has been delegated to a CEO Andrea Midgen  see her linked in profile  reveals that she was CEO SPCA Auckland until 2017 when she became CEO RNZSPCA.
      • Andrea Midgen appears to lack understanding  of the legislative  framework under which the organisation/s must act,  and that each organisation is a separate legal entity, as the CEO  she appears to be working without supervision or control of the Board,  and   works in a delegated manner holding all the power as one person   and is therefore the only apparent person in control of the organisation.
    • The Interests of the Public
      • It is important to realise that the RNZSPCA is unique in that it is the only private organisation which had coercive law enforcement powers.  Refer to Neil Wells   submission in 2013, the RNZSPCA over saw 47 local SPCA now it lists just 33 with more listed to close.
      • Correspondence  with MPI shows that they lack oversight and control of  the SPCA and if the Board is not in control, who is providing  oversight ?
      •  The agreement for funding refers to the supervision of  an Inspector who has long since left  . Her position has been taken by  Alan Wilson a former  MAF(now  MPI )  employee
        • Many of the  SPCA  inspectors    have  come from MPI  and  similarly   SPCA  staff have  found their  way to MPI e.g., Jen Radich
      • As Wells points out  17 “In the unlikely event that the SPCA becomes insolvent or for any other reason is no longer able to meet the criteria of an approved organisation the Minister has no alternative plan.” The people who have taken over the RNZSPCA have acquired  a gold mine with coercive public law enforcement powers and little or no oversight.  
      • Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion – Accountability. Hence the RNZSPCA is ripe for corruption. This  equation can be broken by any or all of the  following
        • Removing the monopoly of the RNZSPCA and  aligning the legislation with the British act  which will  enable all welfare organisations  to   take action  in the case of abuse
        • Removing discretion  where inspectors  cannot act  and prosecute without the  matter going to   review  by MPI  lawyers to ensure  consistency of approach in the welfare sector
        • Accountability    – to ensure that complaints  are independently investigated .
      •  It is  important to note that the charges for the women were all related to the day that the dogs were taken, in fact only to the very short period the inspectors observed the dogs.   We must  therefore, ask the why it took over a year before they were charged and why was there so much pressure put on them to surrender the dogs  supported with offers of forgoing the costs of keeping them.
      • This brings up a very serious issue that a breeder visited by the RNZSPCA would be silly not to hand over their prized animals in exchange for anonymity.
      • The power of the inspectors trading on the perceived reputation of the RNZSPCA  is  such  that  such an offer  is  a powerful incentive to hand over  your animals .
      • The first  approach was in   2017    in all  over the years the SPCA took  % dogs by coercion  15 dogs through  a targeted raid   15 puppies   which were born  in  captivity  6  dogs  through an alleged barking dog complaint 2018  to coincide with the disposal hearing  and  5 more dogs unlawfully  in 2019
      •   In the transcript   Plowright    states  page  251 line 26 “So we take the ones with the problems, that’s their top bloodline, the one with the ear – no, please let me finish. They’re left with so many breeding bitches, they’ve probably got 20 breeding bitches all capable of producing 10, 12 puppies in a litter and a couple of litters a year. So yes, affecting their breeding stock, absolute rubbish, absolute rubbish.
      • For having dogs  stolen from them Barbara and Janine  suffered  5 years of court action Barbara paid out to lawyers  who  failed to represent her  and took the money and  ran, we suspect  due to the pressure put on them   to force this elderly lady to plead guilty
      • The emphasis  was totally on having  too  many animals see the  interview when there is no legislation which  allows  for dogs to be taken under those circumstances  
        • An example of this is shown in the  interview page 6 the Inspector states” Just to put it out there as well, like I mentioned the, one of our main things is the, the best interest for the dogs and yeah, we’d like you to consider surrendering ownership of the dogs and what that would show is workability with what we’re doing. And if you decided to do that, you don’t have to decide now, but I would look at wiping the, the charges from seizure date to the date of surrender if you were to do that”   
      • Additionally through Director of the Auckland SPCA  Anita Killeen,  a Pro Bono Prosecution Panel was set up,  see here and  here page 62
      •  It was the Crown Solicitor Natalie Walker, Partner, Kayes Fletcher Walker Ltd, Auckland who took on the prosecution of Volkerson  first in the name of Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( Auckland) the disposal was done to the Auckland SPCA  and the final prosecution was done on behalf of the RNZSPCA, note the switch of legal entity .
        • There Is no evidence that any Board ever became involved and there Is no evidence of the lawyers being instructed by anyone other than the unsupervised inspectors who have left and have other businesses some involving  dogs.
      •  The MOU which existed between the RNZSPCA and MPI  refers to the prosecution policy which includes the Solicitor-General’s Prosecution Guidelines  however there is no further requirement of Government over sight and in this Volkerson prosecution  every rule including the legislative requirements under the Animal Welfare Act and the Criminal Procedure Act were breached and for good measure the Bill of Rights was totally ignored. 
    • The functions and powers of the organisation are not such that the organisation could face a conflict of interest if it were to have both those functions and powers and the functions and powers of an approved organisation.
      • The Volkerson prosecution brought out massive conflicts of interest    including collusion with other organisations, this in itself is a Privacy breach on the part of the SPCA  and of the New Zealand Kennel Club and  Waikato District Council Dog Control.
      • I  refence a lettersee here from the SPCA to the NZ Kennel Club which shows collusion and willingness to use the Inspectorate powers for outside organisations.  This offer made by inspector Reid “do you want me to lay a formal complaint against a member?.
  • Further collusion with the NZ Kennel Club is in sharing information with them which had the Volkerson Kennels struck off the NZ Kennel Club register well before the court action , the correspondence here shows that on 20 April 2018  They had not  made up their mind about the charges yet, eventually the charges only related to the  day the dogs were seized see this  inspector REID  states in his letter see here to the NZ Kennel Club  they were trying to formulate charges regarding  the  “intentionally breeding from dogs with known genetic disorders”  obviously even  x rays of the pregnant bitchers did  not produce evidence for this ..  This brings up the issue of disposal and compliance with Section 130 (1) ( b)
  • The NZ Kennel Club provided  Becky Murphy   to examine the dogs she just happens to have a business of artificial insemination of dogs and improving breeds.   
    • Additionally a Vet involved in seizing dogs from a Champion dog breeder in 2017 was a SAFE activist  see here.   I note that from the body worn cameras the vet involved, Jess Beer, could diagnose ear problems from a great distance.
    • The Chief Legal Officer Brett Lahman is also a former head of SAFE have these activist groups infiltrated the RNZSPCA to raise a conflict of interest? 
    • One of the puppies whelped to a dog seized in October 2017 was given to  the local Dog  Control Officer  see here   who in return passes on an alleged barking dog complaint to the SPCA ( as confirmed by sworn evidence in court )  to ensure that dogs which are compliant under the  Dog Control Act are seized for allegedly breaching the Animal Welfare Act.
      • He is a hunter and happened to be the person who was seen in possession of the leash and a rope recovered on the dog  which was  hog tied in the hay barn.
      • He has never explained why he was in the hay barn with the dog  walking free as captured by the body worn camera footage and why he left the barn when a dog was tied in such a state  and was only found some 10 minutes later when the Inspectors came in through the other end. see here  the full version is here see 13:00  to 13:02  
      •  the second article  shows that this Dog Control Officer who trains guard dogs/  bite  dogs  helped  select the Volkerson  dogs  which were man work and obedience trained and suitable as guard  dogs.
      • While the ladies were charged for having dogs on short leashes temporarily ,the somewhat hypocritical Inspector and Dog Control Officer both specialise in bite dogs and advocate the choke chains as seen in the face book pictures  see here  and the header on his face book  page  says it all https://www.facebook.com/DeterDetectDefend/
    • The reputation of the RNZSPCA is such that the hearsay evidence of an Inspector is accepted and the people they accuse are regarded as liars by the court.  In this case we are using the best evidence that is the  body worn camera  footage   to contradict their evidence but this should have been done by their governance body before it went to court.
    • The same Dog Control Officer kept 4  dogs in the Council Pounds for two weeks.  The charges have been proved to the court by the Inspectors who   forgot that by implicating the dogs’ owners were actually admitting that the SPCA has animals in its own custody and does nothing for the dogs  which are allegedly ill .  This is proved by the vet reports of these dogs. See evidence   Zeta Paris Astro  Mafia
    •  The RNZSPCA who have progressed this prosecution must therefore be likewise prosecuted for failing to ensure that the Physical health and behavioural health were met  between 13th October 2017 and 27 October 2017 when they were first seen by a Vet and had been left in their muddy condition for 2 weeks. This is proved though prima facie evidence and failing to charge the RNZSPCA will put them above the law.
    • Then there is also the matter of the Bitch which whelped in the back of a van in a crate with her 7 new born puppies and gave birth to another puppy classified as Dead on Arrival. Also the numbers of puppies born to the two bitches fluctuate, this proves failing to account and as the Face Book post shows one was given to a Dog Control Officer in circumstances which can be regarded as bribery.  
    • There is also inconsistencies in the microchip numbers and no records were ever produced to show what kennel numbers relate to what dog  or when a dog was received by the SPCA. Business records  were missing   from the trial these are normally relied on for  continuity of evidence .
    • The  pups were disposed of under Section 136  by the  Crown Prosecutors  who acted in this Private Prosecution and disposed of the pups without lawful process.  The pups were not seized and were never seen by the owner and disposed of without charges which is contrary to the provisions of the Act.   The RNZSPCA allegedly instructed the Crown Solicitors and therefore were not compliant with the law.
    • The employment contracts or arrangements between the organisation and the organisation’s inspectors and auxiliary officers are such that, having regard to the interests of the public, the organisation is suitable to be declared to be an approved organisation;
      • The organisation represented by its Board  has the approved organisation  powers, the organisation recommends to the Minister persons to be appointed as Inspectors .
        • We have no idea how this is done and if this task is delegated to   the CEO and what vetting procedures are in place.
      • The Inspectors appear to work without  supervision  Plowright worked under the supervision of Greg Reid the Auckland SPCA Inspector.
        • The RNZSPCA Chief Inspector in 2019  had no idea of anything to do with this matter but assisted in returning  five dogs unlawfully taken by the same Inspectors.
        • Medical records of those dogs reveal that these dogs had been  returned with medical conditions  see vet reports
  • Hobby a 25 Kg  dog  who  became obese in SPCA care
  • Fenta Taken 21 Feb 2019 shows ear issues in the care of SPCA
  • Emma Taken 1 February  2019 had skin issues in the care of the SPCA
  • Xena Taken 24 January 2019 and returned in an obese condition 
  • Alex  Taken 1 Feb 2019  returned 19 December 2019  this dog  was kept unlawfully for 11 months the documents show that even in SPCA care the dogs developed and had ear problemsThese dogs were never the subject of charges, and they were treated for things which developed while they were in SPCA care  the average vet bill for these dogs was $6000  as recorded on the vet reports which records the Auckland SPCA as owner. The prosecution related to the dogs taken in October 2017 and May 2018,  due to the failure to record microchip numbers of the dogs seized in October.  There is no chain of evidence, and we can only speculate if the  dogs seized actually made it  back to the SPCA due to the evidence on the Body Worn Camera footage of the Dog Control Officer loading dogs into his van.The prosecution was totally  hap-hazard and the Inspectors carried out a search warrant on Barbara’s property, this search warrant was unlawful and the instructions from their lawyers and notes were taken, and their computer cloned.   Many boxes of evidence were loaded into the van but only a very short inventory of seized  items was produced The document is a copy no original has been seen There is no signature of an issuing officer The date is for 2017 when it was executed in 2018 There is no evidence that the Inspectors worked for the RNZSPCA ,  yet they gave evidence in court that they did which does not line up with the evidence on the Body Worn Camera footage or the evidence given in the Disposal Hearing .( Perjury ) Evidence was deliberately withheld for the trial and there is evidence of the Prosecutor changing  without due process.  The first group of dogs were disposed of before the charges were even formulated.13 October 2017 Dogs seized 26 March 2018 Unlawful Search Warrant 1 June 2018 TV campaign  12 June 2018  Court Hearing 12 July 2018 Decision  2 November 2018 Charges filed  January 2022 Court Hearing  Decision 31 March 2022Sentencing 13 July 2022 nearly 5 years after the dogs were first taken  Despite 5 dogs being returned by the RNZSPCA and no further  “visits “after  19 December 2019  the RNZSPCA  instructed  counsel to seek disqualification of owning or managing dogs for 9 years.This makes no sense, if the dogs were deemed  to be safe to be returned to and left in the custody of Janine and Barbara  for 2 years after the seizure   and after building new kennels, then what is the logic that they cannot own  or care for dogs 2 ½  years later?  Does this mean that if the RNZSPCA has been negligent in allowing dogs to remain in the custody of persons who they believe to be incapable of caring for them ?   The Body Worn Camera footage shows the intent of taking the dogs. A  document was prepared before they arrived on the Friday  to seize the dogs, and the document had been pre-printed.  The owner was provided with  this  but the Body Worn Camera showed a document which was never disclosed in discovery which was the identical list in a  completed form providing much more information 
    • The persons who may be recommended for appointment as inspectors or auxiliary officers—
      • will have the relevant technical expertise and experience to be able to exercise competently the powers, duties, and functions conferred or imposed on inspectors and auxiliary officers under this Act; and
        • The provisions of the Animal Welfare Act have been totally ignored,  and the Inspectors appear to make up the Rules to allege that  Barbara Glover and Janine Wallace failed to comply.
        • The section 130 notice  issued on the day that the dogs were taken and relate to substantive charges allege that there is a requirement
  • to have leashes of 2 meters and 
  • deems wool shed flooring unsuitable for dogs
  • directs dogs to be able to display normal behaviour expecting them to be like house dogs and not the working  dogs which they were
  • not to crate for more than 1 hour the 2010 Code of welfare under which this seizure was carried out makes no such provisions and the requirements were simply made up on the spot and used as a basis for prosecution the very day that they made these  “ rules” up.Throughout the country, people place dogs in crates often overnight but the SPCA Inspectors direct specifically that dogs should not be in a crate for more than one hour see here This contradicts what the SPCA advocates on its own web site Additionally the SPCA approach would mean that every dog tethered outside the corner dairy on their walking leash is  also subject to seizure.No evidence as given as to how long a dog had been  observed in a particular place but the body worn camera footage confirms that they were in a different spot to  where they had been seen the day before. Not one of the  dogs  which was the subject of a behavioural  charge  was   witnessed in its normal environment in normal circumstances  and the  “ expert witness ‘  did her analysis  for photograph provided and  not by any visit to the scene The original section 13O notice requiring the building of kennels. This was complied with yet the dogs were taken due to not having proper facilities to house them, see statements by Plowright and  Davis in the  interview   Pages 2/27 /29/33/41 and the   video see here   with Greg Reid  who informs the ladies that they can’t have their dogs back despite the new kennels being built When the Inspector first called on the property Barbara was coerced into handing over 5 dogs because they alleged that they had too many dogs.  No notice was taken of the number of helpers they had and  the fact that this was a massive  farm.  5 dogs were taken and  from here Barbara was ripe for the picking even in the Court proceedings the refence was continually to having too many dogs. There Is no law which restricts the number of dogs they could have. Numbers increase sharply when a bitch whelps 10 puppies   which need to remain with their mums for at least 4 months  .Under the  dog control act   dogs can be tethered on the farm    these were working  dogs not pampered pooches, yet the Inspectors without knowing how long a dog had been in a location decided to charge the ladies as if a dog had been there for a very long time.  Evidence on this Body Worn Camera footage shows that they knew that the dogs were moved regularly  see  video The Judge said at 231 of her decision   stated that “In general, I consider the SPCA’s concerns about Volkerson Kennels were well founded. It was poorly run and there were far too many dogs that could be cared for adequately. “What was portrayed to the court was not the reality by looking at the dog Monty she states “It appears to me from the photograph I saw that this dog can barely sit down.” The  video footage tells a different story and this dog  who was being groomed but had this interrupted by the SPCA visit was rolling about, drinking  and being  quite relaxed   see  video 11 min in  To encourage a  guilty plea the inspectors prepared a manifestly false summary of facts in which they make serious allegations of the integrity of the defendants  and reveal that  in May 2018  they    used their  inspectorate powers to   call at boarding kennels in Taupo where   dogs were temporarily kept The summary of facts is such  that the    content   was not proved  and could not be proved in court  and  is directly contradicted by the    body worn camera footage. The summary of facts   reveals that  a total of   15 puppies were born alive  to two of the dogs  seized  the  Judge’s decision  disposes of  just 13 of them . Vet records  and  inspector   records  do not  agree on the number of    puppies born to Debbie  and Dani  this   shows   lack of accountability Subject to Section 126, will be properly answerable to the organisation.All inspectors and auxiliary officers must act under the direction of the Director-General in the exercise and performance of the powers, duties, and functions conferred or imposed on them under this Act.As shown, compliance with the legislation rules, welfare codes and supervision of the board  are totally missingTher was no section 12 Criminal procedure  act notice which allowed  the inspector to act on behalf of the organisation  and there is  great doubt as to  any  board having instructed the crown solicitor  was it the Auckland SPCA  for the   disposal hearing or  the RNZSPCA   for the  trial.  They cannot both be right  as both are  distinctly separate legal entities. The Section 130 notices if not complied with had specific procedures to adopt under the Animal welfare Act. These were ignored and instead the dogs were seized and disposed of without proper identification or chain of evidence and before charges were even filed. The Owners were not allowed to have a second  opinion of their own vets, this could  well be because the dogs seized,    and the dogs identified at the SPCA were not the same dogs. This and the unlawful uplifting of dogs at various times all impact on credibility and oversight.  Questions need to be raised as to why dogs which had a microchip were chipped on arrival at the SPCA?  Was this a different dog, given the identity of the seized dog and did the seized dogs go the  SPCA ?The performance and technical standards 2012 were totally  ignored and procedures were not followed in particular   paragraphs  212; 248; 250; 258; 261 Director-General means the chief Executive of the MinistryAs per the correspondence referred to 29  June and  19 July      the Director Compliance services MPI has handed the investigation to the SPCA who by investigating themselves  are grossly conflicted.

Review of suitability of the RNZSPCA to hold the powers under Section 121

  • Considering the above, I seek a full Ministerial investigation into the suitability of the RNZSPCA to remain an approved organisation on the criteria set out in Section 122 . 
  • Body Worn Camera footage has been uploaded to https://vimeo.com/user178471461 these  were provided by the SPCA  in disclosure but not referred to in court I can also send through  detailed analysis of the charges showing the evidence which was  given in court and how they conflict with the evidence given, please note I was not in court and these were not prepared by me
  • This is a copycat crime as perpetrated in Australia and mentioned by Senator Malcolm Roberts https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/is-the-rspca-a-charity-or-a-dodgy-business/  published in June 2021 “Much of RSPCA’s revenue is gained from seizing animals from their owners under the rouse of falsely claiming that the animals are not being treated appropriately. A common feature of the RSPCA’s approach involves the RSPCA harassing owners who appear to have fewer means and lack the ability to challenge the RSPCA in court.”
  • In Ontario the SPCA lost its law enforcement powers due to lack of transparency, this appears to be the case in NZ  there is little information available by way of OIA and this private organisation operated by an undisclosed number of people who could be as few as a dozen and  have all the power and assets which were gathered by volunteers and residents in NZ.  These assets are being sold off to be placed in various non transparent Trust while seeking ventures to tear at people’s heart strings for more donations while trading on a trusted name.
  • There are many small  Charities set up and doing the hard work while the SPCA which has the reputation, and the funds acts in apparently unsupervised manner and  by the response received it appears that MPI prefers to distance itself from all this rather than take action to ensure compliance.
  • Further I therefore request that an assessment is done to see if the RNZSPCA with its massively reduced membership and amended constitutions and alignment with activist groups is still suitable to hold the powers since they appear to have  totally ignored the provisions of the Bill of Rights, Solicitor General Prosecution Guidelines and the very Act under which they have powers.
  • To assist the investigation, I request  the following by way of OIA and hope that this will assist the Minister in the decision-making process.

OIA questions please provide all documents and  policies relating to   the following points  if there are no policies, please advise the safe  guards which exist to prevent abuse of powers.

  1. The last MOU with the RNZSPCA was in 2019 when the member societies and  branches existed,  is there a new MOU to reflect that there is now only one organisation if so please provide one.
  2. Is the Ministry aware of the total number of members of the RNZSPCA  if so,
    1. how many members do they have in each category and
    1. how many people attended their last AGM ?
  3. Does the Ministry have a copy of the last two years AGM for the RNZSPCA if so please provide these?
  4. Please provide a copy of the latest audit of compliance with the Act.
  5. Please provide all correspondence from the RNZSPCA  to the Ministry advising/discussing their change of structure and change of constitution and how it reflects on the criteria.
  6. What investigations have been conducted by the Ministry on the financial aspects of the RNZSPCA  and the involvement of public assets and potential to misuse those assets?
  7. Please provide all documents which relate to the apparent provision of SPCA powers to   organisations such as the  NZ Kennel Club and or seeking advice from outside organisations for prosecution by virtue of the statement “for example do you want me to lay a formal complaint against a member?). see here
  8. It would appear that  SAFE activists have infiltrated the RNZSPCA.  What is the policy of MPI and what protection is there for the public to prevent for members of outside activist organisation  holding a pivotal role in animal welfare? 
  9. What is the policy in providing seized animals to persons from outside organisation who are involved in raids and have a business which builds on that type of dog see here  and here  and   see here  and his FaceBook page  https://www.facebook.com/DeterDetectDefend/
  10. What MOU’s exist between the RNZSPCA and other organisations which could conflict with the powers under the Animal Welfare Act?
  11. What is the duty of the RNZSPCA to disclose MOU’s or other agreements with third parties to MPI ?  
  12. With regards to the 4  dogs kept at the pound  Zeta Paris Astro  Mafia  and the dog whelping in the van what is the policy for prosecution the RNZSPCA  for breaches of the Act and how are the complaints lodged?   
  13. Please provide  policies regarding  SPCA vets and the ability to administer drug to the animals   owned by other people without consultation and x-raying pregnant  bitches?
  14. Please advise what procedures exist for ensuring that Inspectors comply with the law and how does a member of the public seek accountability and transparency for an Inspector’s actions? Our complaints to the SPCA seem to be  ignored.
  15.  What provision is there for Inspectors to demand the surrender of dogs through coercion as in the forced surrender of five dogs to the Auckland SPCA  4 august 2017   and what controls are the in place to ensure that the dogs are not taken by the inspector or a valuable blood line swapped out for a less valuable blood line?
  16. What provision is there for an inspector to use what appears to be blackmail to use the costs of the care of the dogs as a trade-off  for surrender and silence? This was also done through the  lawyers in exchange for a guilty plea on reduced charges.
  17. What ability does an Inspector have to ignore the legislative requirements  e.g., 143 AWA application for an enforcement order and instead taking dogs and disposing of them?
  18. Please provide a copy of  a valid search warrant and any documentation whichwill enable a person to identify if a search warrant under Section 131 is legitimate . e.g.  should it have a signature of a person on it  who can issue a search warrant  and how do we  check if that person is capable of issuing a search warrant? see warrant   used here
  19. What action was taken with regards to  the  invalid search warrant , a copy dated a year earlier and not signed executed and why was  a full inventory not provided , this seizure captured on Body Worn Camera footage (not uploaded but available for MPI )  shows  a multitude of documents including defence material seized and inventory was provided.   Please provide the full policy on search warrants which existed in 2018. 
  20. What provision is there and what are the consequence of noncompliance with enforcing a  Section 130 notice through seizure and not applying to the court for an enforcement  order  where the time frame in which to comply had not expired?
  21.  In 2019  a number of dogs were taken without  documentation they were returned by  Inspector Tracy Phillips.  Please advise what investigations were carried out with regards to the unlawful seizures of those dogs?  Did the SPCA report back to MPI  or was this concealed by them?
  22. The puppies which were born in the SPCA  to Debbie and Desni were disposed of under Section 136 A   Please advise who instructed the disposal of those  puppies and how could the legislation have been applicable when they were neither seized not subject to prosecution,  please advise how we can make a complaint and be heard as this has repeatedly been ignored?
  23. Noncompliance to the Bill of Rights and Prosecution Guidelines : what enforcement /accountability measures exist  to ensure compliance and who oversees the action to  seek accountability for non-compliance ?
  24.  The RNZSPCA is a private organisation with a select membership ( as per their constitution )  They were represented by the Crown Solicitors  but no Section 187 notice was filed and there is nothing to  indicate that the Crown could represent the RNZSPCA and even less allege that this was entitled to intituled the Queen  v    . Documents were filed as the Crown and the transcript of the hearing   refers to “ Crown ” no less than 20 times.
    1. What measures are in pace to prevent this private organisation of misrepresenting itself to the court as a Crown Entity?
    1. And what exemption exists to allow an inspector to  file charges on behalf of the society without referring to Section 12 Criminal procedure act  Please note that the Criminal Procedure Act came into existence in 2011 well after the 1999 Animal Welfare Act?
  25. Re The sentencing  decision  again is R v    there are procedures which protect both Private Prosecutions and  Crown Prosecutions,  it would appear that by an Inspector going straight to the Crown Solicitor both accountability processes have been avoided.  Resulting in false representation that this Private organisation is a Crown Entity, this resulted in Judge Grau  relying on the reputation of the SPCA and the alleged integrity of the Crown Solicitor’s Office to the detriment of the defendants.  With regards to her decision
    1. Judge Grau emphasises the number of  dogs, what provision is there in the Animal Welfare Act with regards to  the number of animals that a person can have if the animal is healthy?
    1. What provision is there for an inspector to  take a dog subject it to tests and x-rays to determine if the apparently healthy dog has any  genetic issues?
    1. What provisions exist for an animal’s owner to have an independent second opinion by a vet not associated with the RNZSPCA or one employed by the defendants ?
    1. And with regards to para 22 in the Sentencing Report what obligation does an owner have to tell the SPCA the exact numbers of animals they have and where is that provision in legislation ?
    1. In the Sentencing  Decision at 70  the judge refers to  the SPCA  having made a  comment  about the transfer of ownership, please find out from the Board if this quote was sanctioned by the Board  and what input the Board of the ‘RNZSPCA  has had in this case?
  26. Please provide the policies which allow the SPCA to  take a complaint from Dog Control Officers   where the Dog  Control Officer has not attended the scene and is simply passing on a barking dog complaint?
  27. What policies exist for the SPCA to  give animals to a public service employee in return for assistance e,g,  giving Heatley a puppy and his involvement in both raids ?
  28. What provisions are there with regards to tainted scenes both the Haybarn and the gully were  visited by Heatley before the SPCA inspectors arrived on the scene? In both instances they knew he had been there before them.  What obligations were there on the Inspectors to advise that the scene may have been compromised through his visit?
  29.  Body Worn Camera  footage and vet reports were deliberately withheld, and an expert witness Flint happened to be a fellow member of a very select association in New Zealand together with  Jess Beer the SAFE activist vet.  Jess is one of only eight Veterinarians with the qualification of MANZCVS  Else Flint is also a member    see here.  What provision is there for
    1. Withholding SPCA evidence from Trial?
    1. Selection of a close associate as an expert witness?
  30.  Please advise the accountability provisions  that were  followed ,and provide evidence of the fact that in this prosecution the prosecution was out in accordance with the 
    1. Approval of the Board
    1. Oversight of the  RNZSPCA
    1. Solicitor General’s  Guidelines
    1.  The Criminal Procedure ACT
    1. Bill of Rights
    1. Animal Welfare Act
  31. The RNZSPCA is not subject to the Official Information Act request,  but I believe that the Ministry would obtain evidence from them as per the MOU, please provide the minutes of the meetings where the Board 
    1.   decided to instruct legal council in this case
    1.  Reviewed the evidence
    1.  There were fundraising drives for this matter how much money was specifically fundraised for this through web sites, face book ?
  32. The performance and technical standards 2012 were to be reviewed two years after being signed  they were signed in 2013.   When were they next reviewed?
  33.    It appears that the technical standards were not  reviewed until 2019  In this document it simply states  “SPCA must have in place a policy and procedure for prosecutions”   has a copy been provided to MPI if so please provide a copy.
    1. The document also requires a policy to be in place for search warrants and   infringement notice procedure.  If you hold copies of those please provide them and   advise if you can obtain copies in the interest of transparency .
  34. In the intervening years  2013 -19 ,  it would appear that the 2012 technical standards were in operation
    1. At point  212  they state Overall, the investigating or prosecuting Inspector retains responsibility for the welfare of the animal. Please advise if prosecution of Lauri Davis  and Kevin Plowright has been considered for the neglect of the ill dogs Zeta Paris Astro  Mafia which they charged the defendants with as being ill on 13 October 2017 and left for 2 weeks without vet attention in the pound unwashed and untreated ?
    1. At point 248  the Inspector was required to  liaise with the SPCA National Inspectorate and Centre Support Team  please advise  if this was  followed and if not why not ?
    1. Point 250  requires the Inspector to recommend to his/her SPCA Centre Committee that information’s be laid. Please advise if this was followed and which committee reviewed  and approved the request?
    1. Records  Paragraph  258  requires records of an investigation to include : including animal identification and examination record; there was no on site vet examination despite a vet being present and Plowright, as shown on the  body camera footage  appeared to make decisions as to which  dogs to seize he decides not to take microchip numbers thereby not complying with the procedures.  
    1. This paragraph was also ignored in that the fact that Police Officers and the Dog Control Officers were not recorded.
    1. Para 261 the records are to be kept for  5 years since the first visit was on 28 July 2017,   we ask the MPI to act with urgency to secure all records and provide copies of all documentation relied on by the inspectors .
      1. This information can be provided to MPI on written request stipulating that the  reason for the request is to investigate the conduct of the Inspectors.
  35. Microchipping this is a legislative requirement on dog owners for non-working dogs, even though these were working dogs they were microchipped ( at the insistence of Heatley ) , and the microchips were confirmed by him just prior to SPCA visits . Heatley did not give evidence despite being on the list of witnesses to be called.
    1. on whose instructions was he not called? What instructions and processes are in place for Inspectors to properly record the identification of dogs seized and if this exist why was it not followed?
    1. Several dogs which already been microchipped were allegedly microchipped again. Why?  The  possibility therefore exists that this allowed for substituting one dog for another.
Posted by: transparencynz | July 15, 2022

Open letter to David Parker Attorney General

d.parker@ministers.govt.nz

Sir

The Hall case was reported in the press recently at this link Crown knew about serious problems with Alan Hall’s murder conviction, but did nothing

It would appear that over the years nothing has changed .

Last week Two ladies, Janine Glover and Barbara Wallace were sentenced because they were the victims of theft by inspectors for the SPCA .

The prosecution could not have been successful without the involvement of the Crown solicitors who represented the proceedings being a crown prosecution

The name of the prosecutor was the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( Auckland ) no such organisation has ever existed and the name is fictional. I cannot imagine that any board approving prosecutions would allow them to be commenced in a name which is not theirs.

The disposal hearings which were complete before the charges were filed were in the name of the Auckland SPCA the judges identified the organisation to be the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Auckland .

This organisation ceased to exist in January 2021 but the prosecution was taken by the crown solicitor as though the prosecutor had been the RNZSPCA all along, this is a totally separate legal entity .

Vital evidence was withheld and the proceedings manipulate by the crown solicitors who had been made aware of the issues surrounding the name of their alleged client

I have outlined the seriousness of the crowns involvement in the following posts to the acting crown solicitor

http://www.transparency.net.nz/2022/07/13/privacy-act-request-to-gareth-kayes-acting-crown-solicitor/

http://www.transparency.net.nz/2022/07/14/request-to-acting-crown-solicitor-to-correct-a-massive-injustice/

He replied that he will not be responding to my complaint

I had previously alerted Luke Radich to the issues

http://www.transparency.net.nz/2021/07/20/open-letter-to-luke-radich-of-kayes-fletcher-walker/

I am approaching you to investigate this abuse of the crown solicitor’s office in representing a fictional organisation, substituting legal entities and representing this as crown prosecution when there is no basis for this being a crown prosecution and does not qualify as a crown prosecution by any definition

The rules, policies and the laws are there to protect every one and the crown solicitors are not above the law

The crown cannot be complicit in corruption as this undermines the rule of Law

In the interest of justice I ask for an urgent investigation

regards Grace Haden

I have received a response from the acting crown solicitor

This is my request to him to help resolve this serious miscarriage of justice

Thank you  Gareth   But I fail to  see what the  company or I for that matter has to do with the price of  fish

Please provide me the information on which you relied  I object to    being  named in proceedings  which I  was specifically excluded from and  prevented from  giving   vital evidence on behalf of the   defendants  relating to the  identity of the alleged  prosecutor

I am pleased to see that you are capable of research and hope that the following will assist in determining if you as crown solicitor acted legally or assisted unwittingly in something sinister

The alleged   prosecutor was the Auckland SPCA using an   incorrect name on the charge sheet . the charge sheets as evidenced by the charges for Mafia Zeta Paris Astro were in the name of Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals {Auckland) the disposal proceedings before Judge Blackie and Lovell Smith were for THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS AUCKLAND (SPCA AUCKLAND)

Both the lower courts in the disposal hearings    which were completed before charges were even  filed   showed that the dogs  were   disposed of the Auckland SPCA

The Auckland SPCA is a separate legal entity to the RNZSPCA   and is  defined the constitution of the RNZSPCA as a member society . see page 37 for definition

The Auckland SPCA was  dissolved in  early 2021  and there was never an amalgamation  of the Auckland SPCA into  the RNZSPCA

The RNZSPCA   gave 5 dogs back  through my involvement in 2019  and found that these dogs had been taken without  any due process or documentation   by Plowright . Plowright also  took puppies and returned them later all  very un-orthodox

There were also puppies unlawfully disposed of  under section 136 AWA   by your office   to  The Auckland SPCA when those dogs were neither seized not  subject to    charges .see the Lovell Smith decision, this was done through Natalie Walker acting as the Crown solicitor

Then there is the issue  that   the  crown solicitor  represented this matter as  a crown prosecution when it was a private  prosecution  even intituling   one document  as  the Queen V .  you will find if you go through the records that the RNZSPCA never instructed your office this came to your office through the Anita Killeen pro bono scheme with the Auckland SPCA . Radich had a cousin who was on the Auckland SPCA Board

Vital evidence  has been withheld   that is the evidence of the council dog control officer Rhys Heatley and puts this case on a par with the findings in the recent Hall matter .

The video  footage  from the inspectors body cameras have been uploaded  here https://vimeo.com/720993011

I have attached a clip taken from the Body worn footage mentioned above which when viewed slowly at 4 seconds in reveals this

Heatley and a dog inside the Barn

further enhancement  shows  a dog  alongside his  right leg  this  dog was the  dog which was allegedly euthanised  and it was tied  with a   rope which we have pictures of Heatley holding earlier

Heatley was also   at the second seizure  and it had not been disclosed that he had visited the scene prior to the  entourage   walking in .  More   body camera  footage which  will be made publicly available will show  Davis  saying the dogs are really very sweet.

As a former long serving police officer I can tell you from experience that abused  dogs are never sweet.

Plowright on the arrival  at the second scene   stands at a distance and says ” take a  photo of her  she is tangled ”  with that  the dog  walks away ..   did he have  great  eyesight? or did he know something about the condition of the dogs before his arrival .

Much was made of the condition of one dogs coat and the tipped over water bowls but he court was not told that this scene was a tainted scene due to people who had not given evidence having been there between Janine taking the dogs there in the morning and the being removed by the Inspectors.

Heatley was also essential as a witness due to allegation through hearsay that he as a dog control officer took a call on the morning and instead of carrying out his own duties he called the SPCA… why was this especially in view of him having received one of the unlawfully disposed of puppies, this has implications of bribery and corruption by a public official .

If he had carried out his duties as a dog control officer the dog control legislation would have legitimised what the inspector’s contorted to be unlawful .

I very much suspect that you were asked to  do the sentencing  and a lawyer must never  knowingly deceive the court   both  Walker and Radich know  exactly what is  going on  . Radich  has   fundamentally been part of the problem  

You will  find that instructions about disqualification    does not come from the RNZSPCA.  The RNZSPCA have only been involved  due to the return of the dogs in 2019 . They gave dogs  back and allowed   Barbara and Janine to own dogs for the  next three years without supervision now they allegedly ask for disqualification for 9 years , if Barbara and Janine were such a threat to dogs why leave them with some 50 dogs from 2017-2022 and then ask for them to be banned from owning them for 9 years !!. That simply does not make sense other than they have to be punished for the act of reporting this to the police

In the interview   it is made clear that   the dogs were taken due to numbers , there is no provision in the  AWA   for   numbers  so  when  the ladies refused to surrender the dogs  Plowright had to be creative and after searching high and low for things they could be charged on in the end the answer was to collude with crown law .

There are so many questions  like

  1. why  did the charges  relate to the day on which the offences occurred  but despite this charges were not filed for nearly one and a half years later
  2. why were the ladies not  told of the alleged charges   at the time  of being interviewed
  3. why was the reason for seizure not disclosed to them while the body worn cameras show reasons which have never been disclosed .
  4. Why  was there a  search warrant unlawfully executed and take all their  private notes and
  5. why was there a need to clone their computer .
  6. why was Heatley in the barn when Plowright claimed he could not get access, yet he saw and was told by Davis that Heatley was in there .. Look at the video it is revealing https://vimeo.com/720993011
  7. why did they need the pedigree papers and why were only the dogs with the imported bloodlines taken

The video also shows how the vet Jess Beer a , safe activist can diagnose animals at 20 feet just before the hay barn clip she can be seen diagnosing a dog in the distance as having an ear infection .

I would never have become involved if I did not believe in the innocence of these ladies , I actually went to the farm and saw the passion of their  desire to breed  champion dogs . The dogs were outstanding   champions and the winter  was  extremely wet and boggy. They were told to build suitable   kennels  but before they  could complete them the  inspectors who were  intending to take the dogs for ulterior reasons , took them  not because they were being harmed  but  to legitimise theft and get their hands on highly valued dogs

  They could not  have pulled this off without the use of the  crown solicitors office has been used to pervert the course of justice and did not act in accordance with  their terms of office

This was a private prosecution    it was never a crown prosecution and the RNZSPCA  has never instructed your office … does that not matter!!!!

I hope that you can see that you have  been used to front these proceedings  to  give it legitimacy and using  your  lack of knowledge as to the background to deal with the aspect that a lawyer must never knowingly deceive the court  , your colleagues have not been honest with you  because both of them would be deceiving the court if they had fronted the sentencing.

We have placed this in the hands of the police    I had a theft  complaint filed  earlier  in my investigations  and  we have now   got the police following up due to the discovery of this vital    footage

Another   matter which we   have   uncovered is that the  microchip numbers were not taken  and there is no evidence at all that   the dogs taken were identified correctly or were even dogs   which came from  the  seizure classic identity  fraud  but with  dogs.

Similarly  dogs went to the pound   I have  attached the vet reports which were deliberately withheld ..Mafia Zeta Paris Astro  I have attached evidence  by link   to  each of the names  as you can see the  information  came  directly from the AUCKLAND SPCA   .  

Logic prevails  that  if  the ladies were charged and found guilty of having  sick dogs   and the  dogs were taken from them and held untreated in kennels  for  4 weeks then the RNZSPCA   must also be   guilty of the same charges  because due to the evidence they knew the  dogs were sick but  did not wash or care for them for  2 weeks . this needs to be subject of charges against the RNZSPCA but what is the bet that the RNZSPCA will say that they never seized the dogs .

I hope that you can see that this is serious  Gareth     and   I  believe that   the evidence   I have provided to you   should  result in an application to the court to have this fraud on the court  and on the   crown solicitors office  rectified .

The ladies did not have a fair trial , it was no public or fair  and  vital   evidence was  withheld   manipulated or contorted .

You may wish to have a look at the video link I posted from Malcolm Roberts      https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/is-the-rspca-a-charity-or-a-dodgy-business/  published in June 2021 “Much of RSPCA’s revenue is gained from seizing animals from their owners under the rouse of falsely claiming that the animals are not being treated appropriately. A common feature of the RSPCA’s approach involves the RSPCA harassing owners who appear to have fewer means and lack the ability to challenge the RSPCA in court.”

In the interest of transparency  I  have published this  email   please note that it  is  shared with overseas groups  who are interested in the corruption of  SPCAs  world wide  , you can play your part in justice by acting to correct the wrong doing by the office which you as acting crown solicitor represent

I look forward to seeing you act in accordance with your terms of  office and section 4 Lawyers and conveyancers act especially the obligation to uphold the rule of law and to facilitate the administration of justice in New Zealand:

I hope that you see merit in liaising with the solicitor  general  now that you know that  the terms have not been  complied with and a private prosecution    with no instructions  has been advanced to the stage where animals have been   disposed of  , destroyed and the lives of  two women ( and their families ) have been totally devastated  though   deceit .

I hope that I am not wrong in believing that you are the person to  bring about justice and resolution .

Regards Grace Haden

Response received

text reads :

Given that you are neither one of the defendants nor their legal counsel, I do not intend to respond to the content of your email.

my reply 6.23 pm

Thank you  I will publish your response  

Posted by: transparencynz | July 13, 2022

Privacy act request To Gareth Kayes Acting Crown Solicitor

This is an open letter to Gareth Kayes who at sentencing this morning told the court that Germans shepherd dogs had been transferred into my name and disclosed personal information about me in a court matter where I had no involvement

gareth@kfw.co.nz

Good afternoon Gareth .

I believe you represented the CROWN this morning in the sentencing of Janine and Barbara in a private prosecution brought by what appears to be inspectors acting in a must unethical if not unlawful manner . the sentencing has been reported in the press at this link

I have heard that you accused me of being the new owner of the german shepherd dogs and by way of privacy act request I would like to know how you established that alleged fact or if in reality you are not too concerned with presenting fiction to the court.

It worries me that you tried to implicate me in these proceedings, I can assure you that my cat would not be happy with me adopting dogs.

Was this statement a reflection of the facts which you rely on for bringing what you have called a “crown prosecution” or were you simply trying to discredit me to the court.

By way of privacy act I would like to know the source of your information or an explanation as to why you made this alleged fact up to knowingly mislead the court

I will also be more than happy to publish your response or are you going to ignore me just as you did when I snet on the email below redirected to you when Natalie went off on study leave

It appears to me that you do not rely on facts as this was not a crown prosecution for reasons stated below.

I look forward to hearing from you but guess I should not hold my breath

regards Grace Haden

From: grace>
Sent: Wednesday, 8 June 2022 1:22 pm
To: complaints@mpi.govt.nz
Cc: natalie@kfw.co.nz; board.secretary@spca.nz; info@investus.co.nz; jane.holland@bellgully.com; julie.sellar@bupa.co.nz; bobbie@onla.co.nz; david.heald@bakertillysr.nz; ‘Senator Malcolm Roberts’ <senator@malcolmrobertsqld.com.au>
Subject: complaint with regards the RNZSPCA totally ignoring prosecution guidelines ,MOU and bill of rights lack of accountability to the public attachment referred to is located at this link

For the attention of Mr Ray Smith 

 Copy for the board  of the RNZSPCA   and   crown solicitor’s office  and senator Malcolm Roberts

During the formation of the One SPCA, due to lack of  apparent supervision  some inspectors saw an opportunity  to obtain high value dogs. 

 This apparent “copycat” tactic has been reported on in Australia by Senator  Malcom Roberts   https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/is-the-rspca-a-charity-or-a-dodgy-business/  published in June 2021 “Much of RSPCA’s revenue is gained from seizing animals from their owners under the rouse of falsely claiming that the animals are not being treated appropriately. A common feature of the RSPCA’s approach involves the RSPCA harassing owners who appear to have fewer means and lack the ability to challenge the RSPCA in court.”

In 2017 Volkerson Kennels were the top breeders of German Shepherds, this was due to the unique  imported blood lines of their dogs. 

 There are two main suspects Kevin Plowright and Rhys Heatley, a  Waikato District Council Dog Control Officer. 

 I believe that these men , who have both  since left their respective employment  used this tactic to secure   the specialist traits of these dogs to  set up their  own  business.

 Heatley through the Council, ensured that all the dogs at Volkerson were identified by their microchip numbers.  Vets were called in to ensure that all microchip numbers were recorded on their farm of the dogs and all dogs identified.

 They then liaised with their contacts at the New Zealand Kennel Club for the pedigrees of the dogs. We have to ask  What does their pedigree have to do with things?  Well Everything, apparently , when it comes to selecting a dog for your business venture.  

 In August 2017 Head Inspector Plowright and his associate 2nd in Charge Lauri Davis who is either ignorant or in on it, called at the farm and coerced Barbara who was then aged 78 to hand over 5 dogs on the pretext that they had too many dogs.

Since when  does the SPCA have the power to do that . this  was simple coercion  and testing the water of compliance   and getting a base line of  stock  dogs  for   the deceit which was to follow  

Barbara and Janine  live on a large rural property, the property does not have a restriction as to the number of dogs they can have.  Too many dogs would only be an issue for the SPCA if the dogs were not being cared for.  Barbara has been breeding German Shepherds since 1960 , the farm   is  typical  of a farm    with old buildings  and sheds .

 Plowright  claimed that the   areas  the dogs were being  kept in were not suitable and  directed them to build new kennels which they did. 

 Before the kennels were completed he returned. He came on 12 October 2017 with Laurie Davis and Nicole, and decided to take more dogs.  They made no mention of this on the day but returned the following day with a document printed with the VOLKERSON kennel name and a lot of blank spaces which Lauri Davis filled in with the dog’s names and reason they were taken. 

It is clear from the Body camera footage that they were taking as many dogs as they could . The dogs were numbered 1-15  and the  document seen on the Body Worn Camera has never been produced instead a blank list with just the dog’s names was left for Barbara and no reason as to why the dogs were taken . 

On the  13th October 2017 they were accompanied  by  SPCA Vet Jess Beer who from the body worn camera footage 13;00;53 appears to be able to spot ear infections from 20 meters away – an external examination, she is a  self-declared SAFE activist and an associate of the    “ independent “  vet who gave evidence at the hearing  and   who  had  prepared her  brief of evidence even before charges were filed  and without ever having    visited the scene  

 On 13 October Jess Beer can be  heard asking  if they should record microchip numbers and both Plowright and Davis respond “no no no”.  and   this is where the  deception  began .

 They go round the farm like kids in a candy shop and miraculously select the imported blood lines while leaving other dogs which have domestic lineage. There are other charges in  court eventually for  dogs simply  identified as  two  males in the cattle yard .  

Time is everything    you can take a dog to the corner dairy    and leave it   outside , it is an entirely different thing to leave it there  overnight . Not one of the charges the ladies were to face took into  account the temporary nature of the situation the dogs were in   nor the fact that it was recorded the day earlier that these dogs were not in that location 

 In all 15 dogs were taken,  2 Bitches were in whelp. 

 From here, we do not know what happens to the dogs, as there is no list of microchips seized, no list of village numbers, no time of arrival at the SPCA and no time and date of examination by a vet. 

It is very possible that dogs were swapped out and that the dogs which were seen by the vets were not the dogs seized.

This is supported by the fact that the dogs were disposed of before charges were filed and Barbara and Janine were prevented from visiting their dogs or having their vets provide a second opinion. 

The vet reports  show   that one dog was  “Sable” which is not  a  colour which  Volkerson has  also  long haired dogs became short hair and vice versa.

 The charges were such that they were relevant to the time of seizure so  the   next quest ion has to  be “why did they have to wait over a year  for the charges to be filed .

In fact the   charges were only filed after  all the disposal  Hearings were  out  of the way.  Was this is so that the dogs could not be referenced or held as evidence?   I suspect  that   dogs were disposed of  but those dogs were not the valuable blood lines which   had been  selected , those had  long  gone.

One example is a dog called Monty ,Monty was microchipped, Yet  he was microchipped  at the SPCA  and recorded..    no doubt  this was a dog which then  became “ Monty”  

 In November 2017 Janine was interviewed , generally  the   issues to which the charges relate were not raised in the interview

The interview was all about  coercion to surrender page 28 “I can mention there’s no course of action decided at this stage. Anything can happen from here”  Lauri Davis on page 30  states “And we need you to understand, we, you know, we seized 15 dogs from your property on the 13th of October. That was purely failing to comply with instruction. There, you know, we could’ve taken a lot –“  

Kevin Plowright page 37 states  “We’re here because of failed compliance. It’s the only reason we’re here.”

Page 42  makes very strong suggestions of confidentiality if dogs are surrendered.

Section 130   has  provisions  for dealing with lack of compliance     the  legal provisions do not include coming in and taking them    the law   and the legislation was deliberately ignored.

 From the interview it is very clear that the charges were dreamt up after the dogs had been seized and the expected surrender  did not eventuate . The inspectors had made up their mind that the dogs were not going to come back despite the new kennels having been built and the chief inspector  of the Auckland SPCA  Greg Reid   was bold enough   to say so

 There was never any notice of noncompliance and their own body worn camera footage shows the new kennels ready in November 2017, six and half weeks before the deadline of 31.12.2017.   There was no non  compliance   and  any action   would have failed, they wanted the dogs  and the   path taken was the only one available to them   some of these dogs blood lines were selling over seas   for up to a million dollars

 The two bitches in whelp produced some 20 puppies, the number is not known  and fluctuates when  looking at records as pups disappeared, were allegedly eaten and then a dog with a totally different village number showed up in the records as deceased. One pup was born in a crate, the mother had already whelped 7 puppies at VSA, in the back of a moving SPCA van.  DOA at Mangere.

 Pregnant bitches were x-rayed.  

 There were charges with regards to having not cared for sick animals; these dogs were in the Pukekohe Pound for 2 weeks before being vet examined, therefore this must mean that by default the RNZSPCA is guilty of having had the dogs in their care and not having tended to them. 

By default  Charges  should then be brought to the RNZSPCA for having seized dogs which they claimed were ill  . By having those charges proved it naturally follows by  default that  the RNZSPCA must also be guilty of having  sick dogs in their  care and not   providing them with   care .

 These dogs which were allegedly covered in “Faeces” stained fur were in that condition when they were examined on the 27th October 2017, they were seized on the 13th October 2017. This means that if they were allegedly ill to start with, this would not have exasperated the situation and if they were in that condition on the 13th  why allow this to  continue  ?  

 As a former Police Prosecutor I am very aware of the chain of evidence and I would have expected to have seen business records showing the microchip numbers of the dogs seized on the day.  A chain of evidence as to where the dogs were for every second until examined by a vet.  I would have wanted to see the vet make a statement ”I checked the dog’s microchip number and recorded it as and I found “ instead we don’t even know what time they were examined or when they arrived at the SPCA. 

 Reference is made to SPCA village numbers  but there is a disjoint to  the   actual identification of the dogs  seized

The seizure itself was a circus, there were  two  dogs  in the hay barn, on forcing open the liftable bolt with a concrete builders block and leaving things for approximately 10 minutes (as shown on Body Worn Camera footage) a dog was found in a crate tied up in a most unnatural contrived  position.  Plowright had made a show of not being able to get in, but his body camera footage, exposed a brief glimpse of Rhys Heatley inside the shed having entered from the opposite end. 

 We have provided a chronology of events   as per attached showing  stills from the  BWC footage . Through the gap in the doors  captured on Plowright Body worn camera  is a shot of Heatley inside the shed  Enhancement of the shot brings out the outline of a dog walking beside him. From there  Plowright  whacks the door with a brick and  there is considerable delay  before the  constrained dog is discovered

The back doors through which Heatley gained entry  are  left open .   It’s the small details  which  give them  away

 This dog was allegedly euthanized due to the injury on her leg which in itself begs belief as amputation, tendon surgery (Prof Andrew Worth Massey University Working Dog specialist) could surely have been considered and how an area not even an abrasion became a festering wound can only be attributed to a swap out of animals or bad veterinary practice. 

 Most importantly, Janine and Barbara were never allowed to have a second opinion on any of the allegations and their vets were not welcome,  this would no doubt have undone the whole plan and proved that   the dogs which were at the SPCA were not the Prized Volkerson  dogs .  Independent follow up   from the    SPCA records  and DNA  testing   will prove this 

 It was only  after  the interview failed to secure surrender of the dogs   that  they began collating evidence for  charges  

In January 2018   disposal proceedings  began and the crown prosecutor  was engaged

 In March 2018, a search warrant was executed we have extensive body worn camera footage of the search and it was a free for all fishing expedition and all evidence that Janine and Barbara had collated was taken and has never seen the light of day again, the search warrant was invalid but apparently that doesn’t count highly now days nor the fact that their computer was taken, cloned and accessed their emails months later. No inventory was ever provided   beyond a  very short document  with  less than half a dozen items     

 In all there was an excessive number of interactions and “ visits “  Plowright was convinced that dogs were being hidden, anyone associated with the ladies had a visit and this ensured that no one supported them as their friends were all afraid that they would be targeted next. In December  when  Janine was  visiting a friend with one dogs   and her pups  Plowright   pulled out and started exercising his powers .  Several days later the lady had a visit from dog  control  who had been asked to go there and pick up  dogs :- she did not have any  

 In May 2018, 6 dogs were at the rear of the property.  They had been on a training run and were resting while their kennels were being cleaned.  This raid was instigated by Dog Control who through hearsay evidence of Plowright, allegedly phoned Plowright after getting a barking  dog complaint from a neighbour over a kilometre away. Heatley and Plowright went in through the rear of the property from the neighbouring farm and interfered with the scene while the rest of the crew detained Janine and stopped her from going back for the dogs.   

 It was alleged that the dogs were left without water it is suspected and highly probable that the water was tipped  out  when the scene was interfered with . Plowright’s BWC  shows him  walking  up to the dogs and he states: ” take a photo of that one, it is tangled”.  With that, the dog stands up and walks away.  How did Plowright know it was tangled from that distance?  If he left it tangled then this is not a very SPCA thing to do   again it is strangely similar to the scene in the hay barn. 

 The dogs were taken and Heatley can be heard to say on BWC “you’re going to stay with me for a few days” after the dogs are loaded into his vehicle on 18 May 2018 at 14:30 pm.  If  Heatley had done his job, the dogs would not have committed any offence under the Dog Control Act but the language of Plowright on the way to recover the dogs, just proves he was on a mission and revenge for not surrendering certainly comes to mind.   

 We do not have a time of the dogs arriving at the SPCA nor what time they were examined by  the vet, which brings up the question as to identification of the dogs at the SPCA,  why did the dogs  go with Heatley  and which dogs  actually arrived at the   SPCA    and why were dogs being  paraded around at the Mangatangi fire station  was there a big reshuffle going on ?

 The charges were filed in November 2018, after the second lot of dogs had been disposed of.  Both  sets of dogs were  disposed of to the Auckland SPCA

The disposal applications were made by  the crown solicitor herself  in the name of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Auckland (SPCA Auckland). Both judges accepted that the   organisation   was the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Auckland (SPCA Auckland) registration number 222889 which is listed in the constitution of the   RNZSPCA   as a member society  .

The registration number of the RNZSPCA  is 218546   both organisations are separate legal entities and   had their own respective boards .

All documents  all action was undertaken in the name of the Auckland SPCA

The dogs were disposed of by the Auckland SPCA and at a time before charges were filed  and the ladies were not advised of what they had been charged with, even when the charges were filed, they were not fully and fairly informed and the identity of the dogs which are specific to the charge was never proved. 

The chief inspector of he RNZSPCA in 2019  become involved in returning   five more dogs which had been taken By Plowright in 2019  without documentation and without supporting evidence , she  claimed to have  no knowledge of the    proceedings  and resigned  not long afterwards

In the first disposal, the puppies which were neither seized nor the subject of charges were disposed of under Section 136,  when there is no provision for this and they were disposed of unlawfully by the crown solicitor.  This  shows the   lack of detail and regard for the law exercised by the crown solicitor’s office

 The name of the prosecutor  was then  swapped out   and the prosecutor became the RNZSPCA  this was  done without any  apparent jurisdiction of he court to make this change    and without consent of the board  of the RNZSPCA  to take on this prosecution which    they had no oversight of.

 Andrea Midgen the CEO  of the Auckland SPCA and  later the CEO of the RNZSPCA , used the  scenario  for its fullest fundraising   potential and   the    kennels were labelled a puppy farm   leaflets went to many  households in the  country and   the case received much publicity  which resulted in death threats to   Barbara

The  Waikato  dog control officer , Heatley did not file any reports and more significantly we can show through his own Facebook posts that he received one of the puppies from first seizure which puts him into a situation of having been bribed in his position  as a  public servant  

 No witness statement was provided by Heatley and he was not available for cross examination. This is despite that crown solicitor stating that the statement was still to come, this is a crucial witness  statement deliberately withheld.  

It was not obvious until the hearing, that Heatley and Plowright had been on the property before they “discovered the dogs out the back” and Heatley needs to explain the dog in the picture in the hay barn and if a dog was tangled when he was in there, why he left the animal unattended. 

In reality if the call on the second occasion had been taken by Heatley and he had dealt with it under the Dog Control Act there was no offence and no reason for removal of the dogs as no offence would have been made out , instead   the ladies are being threatened with prison

Filing of charges

 The charges were filed by Plowright.   It appears that   there was no internal oversight of the  filing of the charges  and  Luke Radich , crown solicitor  allegedly formulated the charges  which  were  79  in total.

In my day this was called throwing the book at  someone  .  The  prosecution guidelines were ignored  as was every safeguard which the   law provides

 The  procedures and policies     for prosecution in the SPCA were not adhered to

There was no oversight from the board or management  it appears that the prosecution was solely in the hands of Plowright and  the now  compromised  crown solicitor  which   was acting   against the  direction in the terms of  office   where they should not  be undertaking any private prosecutions

Not only was this a private prosecution but   there was no authority from the board which was allegedly the prosecutor as required by section 12 Criminal procedure act.

The MOU and the technical standards  were    ignored  and there is no evidence of the SPCA National Inspectorate being involved

There is no evidence that  either  the inspectors  or the  crown solicitors office  adhered to the prosecution guidelines and   the bill of right was totally ignored

As was the Criminal Procedure Act

Criminal Procedure Act

This legislation has built in safe guards for private prosecutions   because the   crown solicitor became involved and  intituled the documents with the  word crown, the prosecution  did not  follow the path  for   private prosecutions .

No section 187 document was filed 

If the    charges  had been through a robust oversight   it begs belief  as to how they came to be filed in the name of   fictional entity  the Royal Society  for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and  Royal Society  for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals(Auckland )

Section 13   of the criminal procedure act  states   that  the act must be complied with  and to have a crown solicitor lending  credibility, to  what appears to me, to  be  criminal offence on the part of the inspectors,  and by  ignoring statutory provisions  which are intended to give protection to  defendants  is dangerously close  if not actually , perverting the course of  justice and  act in which the crown cannot be complicit

 Trial process.

 The matter was to be trial by jury, but this changed at the last moment.  Barbara was not allowed a support person,  I know that because it was to have been me. 

 This was not a public hearing and it was not fair due to the lack of compliance with the Bill of Rights and the Prosecution Guidelines and Criminal Procedure Act.

 Barbara saw her solicitors for the very first time that day, she had paid for lawyers when they suddenly pulled out, it appeared to me that they had been threatened.  A lot of pressure was put on Barbara, now aged 83 to enter a plea of guilty. 

 The crown solicitor took on the prosecution and ignored every safeguard that is there to protect defendants. 

 The documents were even intituled at one time the Queen V   and even the exhibits for the trial were labelled crown exhibits.  This is deceptive  and misleading     and gave the prosecution an appearance of   having   been through   robust and accountable   

 The Solicitor General’s guidelines were totally ignored, so much so that the charges were filed in the name of a fictional organisation. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Auckland). 

 The Auckland SPCA is defined in the constitution of the RNZSPCA as being its own separate legal entity.  

 It is quite clear that neither the Auckland SPCA or the RNZSPCA  board consented to the   prosecution being undertaken and there has been no independent oversight.

 The book has been thrown at the ladies to make the matter complicated and overwhelm them as was the mountains of alleged evidence which then never saw the light of day. 

 Janine was prevented from referring to the vet reports and the body worn camera footage which would have supported her evidence. 

 There were two sets of evidence books  the second was introduced  during the hearing  and  differed from the original booklet provided to the defendants before the hearing   

The crown solicitor totally ignored the legislative framework under which he was supposed to work and treated the matter as a crown prosecution rather than the private prosecution which it was.   He changed the category three charges at the 11th hour so that they could go before a judge alone, this is because he had not filed the pre-requisite documents for a trial by jury. 

 Evidence was deliberately withheld in the hearing and no body camera footage which would have proved the innocence of the ladies was withheld as were the vet reports. 

 Not one business record was produced, so there was no chain of evidence and in the end the   Judge preferred the evidence of the SPCA and the crown solicitor because she felt that there would have to be too many people in on it.

 The reality is that the vets may have been totally honest with their findings, it is just that the dog they examined was not the dog which was seized.

 This is a well-orchestrated scenario, it will lead to a serious miscarriage of justice if the ladies are sentenced.

 Action after the hearing

When the decision was  delivered I  had  Janine go through the body camera  footage  and we have found  that using their own evidence we can show that that the  court was  consistently   misled  in the end it came down to the judge preferring one story  rather than the other   because of the reputation  attributed to the prosecutor  and  crown law

We have compiled  many discrepancies  the largest one of all is the   scene in the shed  which   with  the devil being in the detail is  limited to a few frames  inadvertently captured By Plowright

We urgently request intervention as this can only set a precedent for the SPCA to walk up to any one and say we will give you confidentiality if you hand your animals over, otherwise we will crucify you.

 We hope that you can take this seriously as the SPCA has to have accountability to the public.  It may well be that the new board of the RNZSPCA is  as horrified with this as   we are   and   decide that they have been set up as  well

 In that case they need to urgently advise that the prosecution was never authorised in their name 

Request  for MPI  

To that end, we seek, aside from a full investigation, all business records which will trace the   dogs from the minute they were seized until they were disposed of.  

An investigation    as to  who the prosecution agency was  and    establish the identification of the dogs disposed of   to the “ forever homes “

 This has the potential  of impacting on the  ability of the RNZSPCA to hold approved status     and   it appears that the fundamental requirement of accountability to the public has been  missing  as they do not   even  acknowledge the rights under  the bill of rights 

Regards

Grace Haden

VeriSure

     Because truth matters

BOdy worn camera footage has been uploaded to https://vimeo.com/user178471461

Posted by: transparencynz | January 19, 2022

Why an urgent investigation into the RNZSPCA is required

This article is to respond and  bring balance to the  news item https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/127523234/top-auckland-puppy-breeders-on-trial-for-neglect-of-dogs-living-in-dirty-conditions

Barbara  and Janine are before the court  they had an excessive number of  SPCA raids  and their  dogs were allegedly taken  because they did not comply with the SPCA compliance   directives  under section 130  of the animal welfare act .

However instead of being charged with   the appropriate offence of  failing to  comply  ( if that was the case ) the Auckland SPCA officer chose to seize  healthy dogs because in this opinion Barbara had too many dogs . ( that is not an offence under the animal welfare act )

In 2019 I had not met  either lady and was approached by them , I was not going to do anything until I had been to the farm  and had seen the dogs for myself , I was impressed and after hearing the interview of Janine By Kevin Plowright the inspector who had seized the animals  I was convinced that these  ladies needed help .

I found it strange that in this interview there was no reference to any alleged offences and I also questioned why the document which they were given when the dogs were seized made no refence to alleged offences .

It was only after this interview which I considered coercive and intent on surrender of the dogs that Plowright commenced prosecution action which included the use of search warrant which was one year out of date and or dubious origins .

I investigated   and  compiled a complaint for the police  for the theft of dogs. But the  court proceedings stalled,   and  we had to wait five years for their day in court .

Last year I became aware of the events in Australia https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/is-the-rspca-a-charity-or-a-dodgy-business/ published in  June 2021 “Much of RSPCA’s revenue is gained from seizing animals from their owners under the rouse of falsely claiming that the animals are not being treated appropriately. A common feature of the RSPCA’s approach involves the RSPCA harassing owners who appear to have fewer means and lack the ability to challenge the RSPCA in court.”

This is  very much  what I  believed had happened to Janine and Barbara. Volkerson kennels   was  home of many champion dogs  and in 2017   Barbara was  breeder of the year .

This was her downfall.  She had many imported blood lines  and I find it   incredibly strange that  the   only dogs worth seizing were  the  imported blood lines . She faces many identical charges for other dogs which were not seized and strangely enough these are domestic blood lines and not the champions .

She  and Janine   face a plethora of charges, for which  evidence must be  produced in the court but  which  so far they have not seen in pre trial matters .  It took a full 14  months  before they were even charged and  by then the dogs had been disposed  of to the now dissolved  Auckland SPCA .

Even more incredible they have been charged  with several offences for having a dog  which was ill   and did not ensure that the animal received treatment to alleviate unnecessary pain or distress suffered by the animal.  These dogs were so ill that when they were seized  by the Auckland  SPCA they were taken straight to the Papakura pound  and  left there for  2  full weeks   before being examined by a  vet .

Then there were  5  further dogs  seized by inspector Plowright  in 2019.  These dogs were taken without  documentation and were returned by  then chief inspector Tracey Phillips  . These dogs  were  sick when they were returned from the Auckland SPCA   as evidenced by the    animal welfare notices  issued by the then inspector Mike Loulanting . Thes dogs had been in the “ care “ of the SPCA for nearly a year .

Then there was the  bitch  which whelped in the  back of a van  and her puppy died. There is incredible confusion about the number of puppies she had   and these valuable  dogs   for which the SPCA obtained   pedigree history were disposed of unlawfully and were never seen by their owners.( only dogs seized and subject to charges can be disposed of under section 136 ..these pups originally 20 in number from 2 bitches were born in captivity and have not been the subject of charges )

There is an assumption that the RNZSPCA  is the same old society that was set up  many years ago.

Over the years it has gained a reputation of being a trusted brand.

It is  however very much  like the  hatchet I have in my garage  it is 150 years old  and has had  four new handles and  six new heads,   but it is still the same old trusted Hatchet … or is it?

The RNZSPCA   formed  well over a century ago and has a new constitution new leadership structure  and lacks  the  public oversight which it had   just a few short years ago .

It is now a business run by a former Ernst and young accountant and not the  volunteers of the past .

In 2017  The RNZSPCA   established itself as one  SPCA  before that there had been  many branches and  member societies, each a separate legal entity  .  I was a member of the Hawkes Bay branch.  Our membership was transferred to the RNZSPCA  and  former members  have never seen a  renewal .

The significance of this  is that  the power is now held by a few  rather than   by many  .

This is a private law enforcement  organisation with  excessive  public powers   and even has the  use of crown solicitors  to defend their actions .  Where is the transparency  where is the accountability    where is the integrity ?

We need a full investigation into the RNZSPCA    urgently .

Posted by: transparencynz | October 16, 2021

Why the identity of a prosecuting body matters

I refer back to my post Open Letter to Tracy Phillips GENERAL MANAGER SPCA INSPECTORATE. I have had several people ask me why identity is so important so let me explain .

Under our laws only real or legal persons have the ability to sue or be sued.

It is important that is some one sues you that you know who this person is as the law would be one sided if they can attack you but you cannot defend back .

If an unknown person or a fictional person wins a court case they can used the decision against you to be enforced but you wont be able to take action against them as fictional persons are effectively invisible and cannot be sued .

Lawyers appear to be totally lax with regards to identity issues , yet it is the most fundamental fist step , the establishment of the parties to a dispute .

So in the case of the prosecution of Barbara and Janine the charges read

note that Janine is being prosecuted by the Royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals
And Barbara is being prosecuted by the Royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals ( Auckland )

The Animal Welfare Act is unusual as the offences are generally Strict liability which means that when the prosecutor makes the allegation that you have done something that you did not necessarily mean to do the act of doing it makes the offence complete and there is no need for the prosecution to show that you had any intent ( mens rea) to do the act.

There are two types of Person

Real people.. that is like you and me who live and breathe and invariably have a birth certificate and eventually a death certificate.

Legal persons.. statutory persons set up through legislation such government departments and or recognized through legislation through being registered as a Crown entity , company , trust incorporated society etc.

To ascertain whether a person is a real or legal person you check on their existence and registration in the case of the RNZSPCA you can find its details here Incorporated Societies Register  you will find it on page 4

entry on the incorporated societies register showing the RNZSPCA is a legally incorporated entity THE ROYAL NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS INCORPORATED (218546) (NZBN: 9429041920213)

search on the name Royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals and you will see this

as can be seen no organisation exists by that name

As we have seen Kevin Plowright and Lauri Davis produced a receipt for the first five dogs which were taken

this receipt plainly states that the owners will be transferring ownership to the SPCA ( AUCKLAND inc .. except Barbara never saw this document the signature was forged by some one unauthorized

The SPCA Auckland inc is defined in the constitution of the RNZSPCA

SPCA Auckland is a separate legal entity distinctly different to the RNZSPCA

The constitution of The RNZSPCA makes no mention of a royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or a royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals( Auckland) which are he names used by the alleged prosecutor .

Therefore the ” prosecutor ” in this instance is not a legal person and cannot sue or be sued .

The only person who is involved in the prosecution is Kevin Plowright who has handed it to the Probono Lawyers for the Auckland SPCA who happen to have a massive conflict of interest in being he crown solicitors office and who have taken this on contrary to the provisions of their terms of trade.

Kevin Plowright ceased being an inspector under the animal welfare act 21 June 2019 so for the past year the file has been in the hands of lawyers who are scrambling like crazy to cover up their oversight of not checking the legitimacy of the prosecution .

It is far easier to aggressively pursue Barbara and Janine than for the Manukau crown solicitor to admit that they stuffed up

In the law society Law talk publication 2 march 2017 it states “

We are very grateful to have a significant commitment of pro bono litigation support from Kayes Fletcher Walker, the Office of
the Manukau Crown Solicitor. The firm support the work of the Pro Bono Panel in a number of ways including by acting as instructing solicitor, by providing legal opinions on individual files as to whether the test for a prosecution is met, as well as appearing in court to assist Panel members
on cases. The pro bono work that Kayes Fletcher Walker provides is a significant factor in the ongoing success of the Panel initiative and contributes to ensuring the consistency and high quality of SPCA
Auckland’s prosecution files

Well Kayes Fletcher Walker .. why did not one check to see who the legal entity was which is listed as the prosecutor and why did you seek disposal of dogs in a file intituled

The court is told that the application is being made on behalf of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Auckland (“SPCA”}

but when Barbara and Janine take their appeal to the court intituled in exactly the same manner as the original matter the judge states

[3] The respondent, the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (the SPCA), is an approved organisation under the Act and responsible for prosecutions. “WALLACE & ANOR v THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS AUCKLAND (SPCA AUCKLAND) [2019] NZHC 1599 [10 July 2019]

When the pro bono lawyers decide to pursue cost the name suddenly became important and they had an inspector who was not employed by the RNZSPCA sign a document alleging that the name for a charge which she did not lay should be changed to the The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Incorporated’. WALLACE & ANOR v THE ROYAL NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS INCORPORATED [2020] NZHC 1618 [9 July 2020]

Laurie Davis’ application was supported by documents from Andrea Midgen , the document was neither sworn or certified true , a copy was sent to the court and the court totally accepted it , unbelievable !.

Kevin Plowright was an inspector under the animal welfare act . He was employed by the Auckland SPCA

Posted by: transparencynz | July 26, 2021

Open letter to News Hub TV3

Mafia Champion

This morning Janine and Barbara had to run the New media Gauntlet, News Hub which was not allowed to film in the court set up by the ladies vehicle . To say that the ladies were intimidated was an under statement they feared for their safety not because of the press themselves but because of the manner of reporting and the death threats they have had because of it

I therefore am writing to you to provide Balance to the story and hope that you can incorporate the following to create a neutral perspective and make people think.

Senator Malcolm Roberts in Queensland has raised questions the videos and transcripts are at these links these are all less than 2 months old

https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/is-the-rspca-a-charity-or-a-dodgy-business/ JUNE 27, 2021

https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/is-the-rspca-really-about-saving-animals-from-cruelty/  3 June 2021

https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/de-register-the-rspca-as-a-charity/ JULY 19, 2021

 The SPCA   is a private organisation  .   Next week they have cup cake  day   and can raise $140,000 from selling cup cakes  this pales into insignificance when these pedigree   dogs  can raise   upwards of $250,000   each

if you want to research your story  and the private prosecution which this is   you may wish  to look at Open letter to Luke Radich of Kayes Fletcher Walker

no one is above the law    so  why  is the crown prosecuting  .

If the matter had followed due process     the inspector would have been fully supervised by the RNZSPCA   despite  working for he  Auckland SPCA

 The name of the prosecutor on the charges would have been a real legal person

There Is no doubt that this is a PRIVATE prosecution  and there is a process for this , which has not been  followed

  1. The registrar get the   charges.  Any registrar getting 79 charges  will refer it to a judge section 26
  2. A judge will  then asses the charges    and    if the   evidence supports the charges  ( which in this case it does not  ) then summonses are issues.. which never happened
  3. Janine  and Barbara  would have been  fully and Fairly informed of the charges including  knowing who the prosecutor is
    1. The name of the prosecutor  was only changed a few weeks ago from a fictional  organisation to the RNZSPCA  which  was actually  not involved  at all  in 2017 and appears not to have been involved in 2018
    2. There would not have been a  plethora of charges  which often relate to the same dogs.. this is called throwing the book at people and swamping them so as to overwhelm them plus it makes it look good for a trial by public

There would have  been precise evidence to support the charges  and  not see them charged with  having a ill animal like Mafia whose picture is above

This is the   pedigree of Mafia https://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=2275498-mafia-vom-volkerson

 And in view of the charge you have to wonder  why Mafia   was uplifted on 13  October  2017  went straight to the pound and was not seen by  a vet until 27 October

Also the only vet  to have seen many of these dogs  happens to be a SAFE activist  and there was no opportunity for  a second opinion

Other relevant questions  are

  1. Why  was the interview  in November   so  weighted towards  surrender
  2.  Why did it take over year to file charges
  3. Why did they need to  get the pedigree papers
  4. Why did they need vet reports .. surely   the dogs were taken because of their condition so would  the  evidence not be on the dog on the day  that it was taken   or could it be that healthy dogs were tken  and  they had to dig deep to find  evidence for court

Why did Greg Reid need to liaise with TVNZ  to have a  ”puppy farm” article  right when they were  disposing the dogs to  the  AUCKLAND SPCA

  1. How could the crown solicitor possibly allow the court to  dispose of   a number of puppies which were neither seized nor subject to charges  under section 136 A .  
  1. why 5  more dogs were taken in 2019 without  documentation and why  Tracy Phillips returned them when  she was  inspector and became aware of   this   and why she resigned also immediately when I sent her   an open letter Open Letter to Tracy Phillips GENERAL MANAGER SPCA INSPECTORATE could it be because she has integrity and  could not work  with this  fiasco

Barbara and Janine  have had death threats   , they have  been subject to many raids on their  farm by Both the SPCA and random others , they live in fear. 

Their passion was  breeding  high quality  dogs  they  fit the  profile  described by senator  Roberts  exactly

In the interest of    NZ justice and fair reporting  I ask that you investigate this aspect 

I am publishing this open  letter   on Transparency NZ in the interest of transparency and justice

Senator Roberts questions on 3 June https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/is-the-rspca-really-about-

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Thank you. Thank you for being here, Dr. Johns. Thank you. My questions are to do with the RSPCA Australia and Queensland. They’re two separate bodies. What body oversees the activities of the RSPCA Australia at either state or federal government level?

I’m sorry, I’d have to take that on notice. We’d have to look up the register and look at its details.

Transparency New Zealand up until recently had about 44 separate legal entities either branches or member societies see the constitution of the RNZSPCA

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] And, you’ll be excused if you have to take up a lot of these on notice. It surprised me when I learned about this. Why, in Queensland are RSPCA state inspectors who laid charges, also the prosecutors in the same cases? Shouldn’t they be merely a witness?

I will take that on notice, thank you.

Transparency New Zealand we take it one step further here , the inspector can prosecute and in this instance he has filed the charges and handed it on to the crown solicitors who are acting against their terms of office see Open letter to Luke Radich of Kayes Fletcher Walker and portraying the private prosecution to the courts as a crown prosecution

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Why are RSPCA Australia staff referring owners to particular vets and refusing to recognise the expertise of others?

I’ll take that on notice, thanks. Sorry, and I’ll just interrupt at this extent, we will have a look at any charity’s fitness for registration. We don’t go beyond that remit, but nevertheless, please.

Transparency New Zealand The SPCA here has its own vets and a totally non transparent process where by owners are denied access to their animals after allegations of ill health are made, they cannot even have their own evets check this out and on top of it the SPCA vets in some instances are SAFE activists

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Why would this RSPCA Australia be the recipient of fines levelled at an owner of an animal when prosecuted by a state RSPCA staff member?

I’ll take that on notice.

Transparency New Zealand We are uncertain as to where the fines go , if it was a police prosecution it would go into the public purse, remember we have the crown solicitors acting as part of the pro bobo panel , so it is a win win situation for the SPCA , in this case the dogs have already been disposed of and costs of some $14,000 have been accrued against the ladies , some of these dogs with a quick microchip swap could fetch up to a million dollars if sold overseas . Their sperm and their eggs have value to and so Becky Murphy of Dogs NZ has examined these dogs and has just bought GlenBred – Small Animal Reproduction, a division of Matamata Veterinary Service

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Aren’t RSPCA Queensland and RSPCA Australia separate bodies?

[ Dr. Johns] I’ll take that on notice.

Transparency New Zealand The various member societies and branches are all separate legal entities, a representative from each branch and member society used to be on the RNZSPCA which then elected its own board. effectively SPCA Auckland has taken over the RNZSPCA which now has a very limited membership so as to keep control

as shown in the constitution of the RNZSPCA

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] If an RSPCA Queensland inspector tells an owner of an animal to pay a large sum of money in order to get their unreasonably seized animal returned, and if not paid the animal will be killed, doesn’t that sound like extortion?

I don’t know, but I’ll take it on notice.

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] How many animals are put down by the Queensland RSPCA in a year?

I’ll take that on notice.

Transparency New Zealand This has happened in New Zealand and Janine and Barbara have been asked for massive sums despite losing their dogs .

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Is it true that animals held by the Queensland RSPCA are given to organisations for laboratory experimental purposes?

I’ll take that on notice.

Transparency New Zealand The reports which we have had back would indicate that these dogs have been experimented on it has been very difficult to get over sight from MPI .

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Are the RSPCA Queensland and the RSPCA Australia genuine charity or nonprofit organisations and worthy of receiving Commonwealth grants?

I’ll take that on notice.

Transparency New Zealand The two top men David Broderick & Gordon Trainer have a number of development and investment companies together

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] How can the Queensland RSPCA seize valuable animals from registered breeders and then on-sell them for thousands of dollars in profit for the RSPCA?

I’ll take that on notice, thank you.

Transparency New Zealand Simple you seize a dog or intimidate some one to hand them over then you sell them . pedigree dogs with papers would get a few more $$ than a beaten up Staffy with battle scars.

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] How much money does the RSPCA Australia and RSPCA Queensland receive from the Commonwealth in grants?

I’ll take that on notice. I’m sure it’s on the register, but yes.

Transparency New Zealand There are searchable official information act requests at https://fyi.org.nz/request/12557-funding-provided-by-government-including-mpi-to-spca#incoming-48507

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Yeah. No, I don’t expect you to know these. It surprised me when we found out what we found out. Not at all surprised that you’re taking them on notice, and I appreciate that. Why would anyone donate to the RSPCA Australia and RSPCA Queensland when its practises are not very charitable? Is it time for the RSPCA Australia and RSPCA Queensland to be investigated as to its offensive practises?

I’ll take all of those matters on notice, thank you.

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Thank you.

Reply.

[Senator Malcolm Roberts] Thank you, Chair.

[Male Speaker] Thank you.

saving-animals-from-cruelty/ 

Posted by: transparencynz | July 20, 2021

Open letter to Luke Radich of Kayes Fletcher Walker

Good afternoon Luke

We are fortunate in New Zealand to have good guidelines which when followed ensure the requirement of section 27 Bill of Rights but the system falls short when there is no accountability to the Rule of law and therefore we bring this to your attention in view of your review of charges for Barbara and Janine

 We believe that it is timely to remind you of your obligations , specifically to two sets of  guide lines

  1. CROWN SOLICITOR’S TERMS OF OFFICE

Paragraph 15 “As prosecutors, Crown Solicitors are ministers of justice and serve the public interest. Crown Solicitors must be independent and free from compromising influences or loyalties when providing services as Crown Solicitor.”

In undertaking a  prosecution for an unidentifiable organisation you have demonstrated a clear disregard for  the  bill of rights  and it would appear that you are acting against the public  interest, and terms of office

 paragraph 16 “Unless granted dispensation by the Solicitor-General, for a specific case or class of cases, Crown Solicitors and lawyers in the Crown Solicitor firm may not (4) act for the prosecutor in any private prosecution.

  1. The RNZSPCA   is a private prosecutor it is an incorporated society.
  2. The name of the prosecutor was changed by you last week   without any evidence from the fictional prosecutor Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Auckland)
  3. The actual prosecutor for which evidence can be produced is the Auckland SPCA which was dissolved earlier this year.

Crown Solicitors Regulations 1994

In  my OIA  which came back yesterday  there is evidence that  there is no such dispensation and that a group of  crown solicitors have taken it upon themselves  to act on a pro bono basis  or sometimes for partial fees as you put it  for the SPCA

Therefore   it appears that crown solicitors in representing the SPCA  are not just  doing this against their terms of office they are also apparently  acting against the law

Of great concern is that not only are you representing a private organisation ,  between 2 November  2018  when the charges were filed and   last week 16 July 2021 , 2 years, 8 months & 14 days  you represented a fictional organisation

paragraph 17 The Crown Solicitor must comply with all directions and instructions and observe guidelines issued by the Solicitor-General from time to time including, without limitation, the following:

17.1 Prosecution Guidelines.

 17.2 Victims of Crime – Guidelines for Prosecutors.

17.3 Media Protocol for Prosecutors;

The principles in the media protocol include

5. When communicating with the public through the media, prosecutors are guided by

five principles. These are:

5.1 Not making remarks that may prejudice fair trial interests or the perceived   objectivity of the judge.

5.2 Supporting the administration of justice and the integrity of the criminal justice system;

 You represent yourself as  “  the crown”

In the introduction the attorney General states “New Zealand is fortunate to be served by a public prosecution service that is professional, open, fair and responsible.”

This is what the court relies on when a crown solicitor stands before   it  and   there is also an expectation that  the crown solicitor is working  for the rule of  law not against it .

 The guide lines  set out

Criminal Disclosure Act 2008

As per (c)   the person who filed the charging document is Kevin Plowright   of the fictional Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Auckland)

Kevin was employed by the Auckland SPCA for some  10 years  you would think he would know the name of his employer

This from the constitution of the RNZSPCA 17/6/2017

This means that The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Auckland Incorporated (registration number 222889);  was  under the approved organisation   umbrella  but the fictional Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Auckland)  was not .

Not only did it not have any powers under the animal welfare act  it  did not exist in any manner or form.

While the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Auckland) was able to file a multitude of charges  and seize animals and keep two ladies  under  severe stress for 3 years, 11 months, 22 days from the date of the  first visit   , it would not have been able to have  opened a bank account  or obtained a 5 dollar loan  so how did it  come to instruct a lawyer  and why did the lawyer    not check the name  and the legal existence of his alleged client ?

Criminal Procedure Act 2011

There are built in safe guards in our justice system for private prosecutions to   ensure integrity  the act  makes the following definitions

The RNZSPCA   is not a statutory public body  it is an Approved Organisation  see the submissions of Neil Wells Here

By handing this to   the Crown solicitor, it effectively entered the system through the back door and by passed the scrutiny and safeguards of section 1.

One would have hoped that the registrar would have picked up the duplicate charges, the unidentified animals and most of all the false name of the prosecutor.

The file would have been assessed by a judge in 2017   and assessed whether it is an abuse of process. 3 (b)

There was never a summons issued   the charge sheets were simply mailed to the Janine and Barbara   after  a fund raising appeal  ( despite using  Anita Killeen’s Pro bono service ) and  after wide spread publicity that the ladies were going to be charged

Charges were finally filed in December 2018   and the ladies   appeared in court  right on Christmas  1 year, 2 months, 4 days after the first dogs  which they were charged with were taken

As former police Prosecutor I must question that length of time.  Dogs legitimately seized would have the evidence on them   then why  I sit necessary to   charge people  over a year later  after  search warrants   , acquiring pedigree papers   etc.

The animal welfare act makes it   clear that under section 127  if the physical, health, and behavioural needs of the animal or the need for the animal to receive treatment from a veterinarian make it necessary or desirable to remove the animal from the land, premises, or place or the vehicle, aircraft, or ship.

 So    why  were dogs taken and placed in the pound for  2 weeks before they were seen by a vet?

 The charging documents themselves “except if the prosecution is a private prosecution brought by an individual, —(i)the name of the prosecuting organisation”   something that  does not exist  cannot be   an organisation

Back to the prosecution Guide lines

THE SUPERVISION OF PROSECUTIONS

It is quite  clear that the prosecution has   had no supervision at all .   dogs were  snatched  the ladies publicly humiliated and vilified  and then the charges were trumped up and the book thrown at them.

We know from our communications with the chief inspector of the RNZSPCA  that the prosecution did not come through the RNZSPCA and it appears to be collusion between two former inspectors  Kevin Plowright  who  left 3 July 2019 and Greg Reid Left SPCA 21 May 2019.

Kevin Plowright passed the file to  Luke Radich  who despite the claim in the law society  law journal that  

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… did not scrutinize the file  at all  as evidenced by the glaring errors on the charge sheet alone  all   serious  point which need to  be proved and cannot be proved.

THE DECISION TO PROSECUTE

The decision to prosecute Is based on

5.1.1 The evidence which can be adduced in Court is sufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction – the Evidential Test; and

5.1.2 Prosecution is required in the public interest – the Public Interest Test.

The decision to prosecute was driven  by the need to cover up the snatch of valuable dogs . while there is  a lot of verbal evidence  about  Faeces   and urine smells there is very little  if any evidence  of  any arm to any dogs  other than the   harm which was inflicted when the   SPCA officer panicked one  dog   when they opened its enclosure  with a sledge hammer .

If the prosecution had been brought a year earlier it would have been   far more credible and I cannot comprehend  why the interview was not about  any   matters which  were relevant to the  subsequent charges.. I thought that was very odd. And why their associates and friends all had SPCA  raids  and why all their  former clients  were contacted.  This is more about   destruction of reputation    than about justice.

Under the evidential test there is a requirement that   an individual is identifiable .. here the prosecutor  was not identifiable , in the disposal proceedings  it was  totally undefinable until it came to pay day   and   Luke Ravlich must have realised that it is impossible to  collect  a cost award  payable to a fictional organisation and then changed the name   at the cost application stage .

If this was a genuine  move then why not supply affidavits  and a transparent  method of changing the name of the prosecutor  why leave it to a week before the trial ?

Unlike the disposal proceedings which were a civil  prosecution  and   had the standard of proof “the balance of probabilities’.  This is a criminal proceeding s  and the    standard of proof  is  Beyond reasonable doubt .

It is quite clear that no one has ever scrutinised this  file for  evidence   and while most of us think  faeces and   wee is disgusting    dogs will roll in it.

Timing is every thing   and  I am sure there are a lot of mums out there who have  found their babies in a cot with shit all up their  back , probably  doesn’t happen as much with new disposables   but in my days   we would see   massive blow outs .  if some one had come along at the wrong time the  headlines would have rad .. child found in poo covered cot .

This does not mean that the child is not cared for     it is just a snapshot intime.

Public interest considerations for prosecution

The ladies have  already had trial by press,   Barbara is well over  80 ,  her life has been devastated by this  she has endured  several operations while waiting for trail and her health has deteriorated.

If we are talking cruelty to animals then  the cruelty that has been  inflicted on these ladies far  outweighs any  perceived transgression of the law .

They appear to be suffering from Post-traumatic stress   due to the excessive number of SPCA raids, they have also been subjected to   people coming on to the farm and interfering with  the dogs  , they are not a puppy mill but have  been falsely portrayed as such and in the end this is all about   $$$$$$

The SPCA   has been less than honest  , dogs were taken  without proper  documentation   signatures were forged, the redaction was by the SPCA we do not know who signed it no one had authority to .

This should open the door for a full investigation into the ability of the RNZSPCA  to hold  public law enforcement powers

Consideration should be given to  the Public interest considerations against prosecution

5.9.1 Where the Court is likely to impose a very small or nominal penalty;

The ladies have  already been destroyed, they will never recover from this , their  precious  imported blood lines have   gone , they have already been lumbered with massive   lawyers costs and court costs , their health  has deteriorated     

5.9.2 Where the loss or harm can be described as minor and was the result of a single incident, particularly if it was caused by an error of judgement or a genuine mistake.

There are in essence two incidents   one in October 2017  the other in May 2018 neither   showed any animal  with   any serous health issues  and no animal was taken because  of health issues, and I do have to  question  how you asses behaviour when the dogs raised by  compassionate women  are confronted   with  a massive team of men   wielding sticks   

5.9.3 Where the offence is not on any test of a serious nature, and is unlikely to be repeated;

The mere fact that the RNZSPCA  returned 5 dogs unlawfully taken to the ladies  and they have been left to  run their  farm and  care for the remaining dogs is evidence that they are  good    animal owners

5.9.4 Where there has been a long passage of time between an offence taking place and the likely date of trial such as to give rise to undue delay or an abuse of process unless:

• the offence is serious; or

No it is not   having  faeces and   urine in a she   happens all the tiem   call at any SPCA

• delay has been caused in part by the defendant; or

No    the delay is not caused by them  it was   well over a year before they were charged

• the offence has only recently come to light; or

No this does not apply

• the complexity of the offence has resulted in a lengthy investigation

Determining   whether an animal is ill should not take  years to investigate

Luke I will be brining this to the attention of the solicitor general   as this has been a case of extreme cruelty to humans. I hope that you would not do this to your grandmother.. If you had checked he files on day one you could have saved a lot of suffering by these ladies .

Posted by: transparencynz | July 18, 2021

RNZPCA copy cat of the events in Australia

In October 2018 the SPCA took 15 dogs from Janine and Barbara , these dogs were not ill these dogs were healthy and above all these dogs were champions in their breed .

Two subsequently produced pups and despite the SPCA acknowledging that they were pregnant they x rayed them

This dog was uplifted allegedly for an ear infection and being under weight her weight the day after being seized was recorded as 30 .5 kg which according to official records is slam bang in the middle of the norms 28 – 32 kg .

this is just an example of what “under weight” means

The questions we need to ask here are

  • why did it take a year and a half of investigation before charging the owners if the dogs were in a bad sate would that be conclusive evidence
  • why was it days and for many two weeks before they were seen by a vet despite the SPCA charging the owners with allowing the dog to suffer
  • why was the interview not about the condition of the dogs and their health and treatment ?
  • why were they left with the vast majority of dogs if they were not suitable to have dogs
  • why did the RNZSPCA return 5 dogs which were taken without documentation
  • why were dogs taken without documentation what act section protocol allows this
  • why was the surrender form for the first 5 dogs not given to its owner and why did some one forge a signature
  • under what lawful basis could the RNZSPCA take healthy dogs and not inform the owners why they were taken
  • why were they not allowed to see the dogs the pups and dogs
  • why could their vets not provide an independent assessment
  • why the discrepancy in litter numbers
  • and why enforce standards well beyond the code of welfare

Questions for Luke Radich of Kayes Fletcher Walker

  • this is a private prosecution then why do you emblazon your court documents with the word CROWN ?
  • and why change the name to the RNZSPCA when in reality the prosecutor was not them and we can prove that it was the Auckland SPCA and there is no evidence at all that it was the RNZSPCA again is that not misleading he court ?
  • why did it take nearly two years for you to correct the name and why was it not done with any proper evidence or supported by affidavits ?
  • why make repeated offers for a guilty plea and why drown them with 79 charges should you not have reviewed the charges and the evidence long before now ? especially in light of the evidence and the pressure that these women are being put under to plead guilty
  • Luke you know that your clients executed a fake search warrant you say your not relying on that but your clients who ever they are have all the evidence which the ladies collated to defend themselves .
  • and if you had looked through the evidence then you too would wonder how a person can be charged with

and the very first time it ( an others with similar charges ) saw a vet was 27 October should you therefore not be charging the SPCA with neglecting animal which they claim were ill ?? and also be taking them on for allowing a dog to birth in the back of a moving van ? is that condoned but having a dog on a short leash warrants its disposal ?

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  • may I remind you of your obligations in particular 4 (a) and 4(d)

The RNZSPCA has obligations under the bill of rights

they exercised their powers under the legislation which gave them approved status

It would appear that this prosecution could be ground breaking in proving that the breach of the bill of rights would impact on its accountability to the public .. which in my interpretation of the law means compliance with the law

When the evidence is not there corrupt prosecutors tend to resort to dirty tactics and in this case it was an unlawful search warrant that took all the preparation the ladies had done for their defence not only did it leave them powerless to fight the disposal which incidentally was to the Auckland SPCA , it also meant that the corrupt SPCA could counter the points which they had observed and made notes about on their private computer in their own home

How ,as crown solicitor could you possibly sanction entry into a home with a false search warrant

And where is the dispensation from the solicitor General which you require to act in this manner are you not severely conflicted by turning a blind eye to an organisation which should comply with he law but is actively ignoring it ?

This case ,which I am sure the ladies will lose, as the corruption is so great and the playing field so un even that the cards are stacked against them . They have been totally bullied and harassed their lives have been totally destroyed and they have already had trial by press coordinated by the SPCA .

Is this prosecution really in the public interest and why have the prosecution guide lines been ignored

This is not a crown prosecution and the crown has never assumed responsibility so why are you portraying yourself to the court as the crown ?

The ladies will be totally destroyed but its not about humaneness is about dirty tactics all the way including the provision of a legal aid lawyer who has now disclosed that he is actually a member of the New Zealand Animal Law Association and is looking at abandoning his client at the 11 th hour he certainly has not done any preparation except put pressure on her to secure a guilty plea .

We need to have an outcry in New Zealand Just like the one in Australia .!

Please keep the stories rolling in the SPCA should not have coercive law enforcement powers they are abusing the ones they have and the power is now in the control of a select few . it is not the voluntary organization of old

Senator Malcolm Roberts calls for the RSPCA to be de-registered as a charity.

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In this podcast two guests join us to a discuss our modern-day RSPCA. What might surprise you is that this isn’t a heart-warming story.

The Royal Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, known as the RSPCA, dates to 1871 when a public meeting was held in Victoria in response to the ill treatment of horses. The QLD RSPCA was formed in 1883. The RSPCA is a household name and many consider it a beacon of respect and care for animals.

Today, the RSPCA has capitalised on its branding of animal welfare with producers and brand owners being able to use the RSPCA logo to reflect their shared vision for animal welfare. Today we can buy RSPCA approved meat in our supermarkets. Typically, we don’t question the integrity of the claimed “animal welfare” standards as we take for granted that this iconic brand is squeaky clean.

Several QLD constituents contacted my office recently with extraordinary stories about how the RSPCA were conducting themselves. Since asking questions at Senate Estimates about the RSPCA, their methods and the legitimacy of their not-for-profit status, we’ve been flooded with more calls and emails. Their stories share many similar themes and the overall message is that there is something rotten in the state of the RSPCA.

The concerns being raised are varied.

The RSPCA’s charity status means that they are not-for-profit and enjoy a tax-free status. Looking closely at the recent annual report it shows revenue was $58 million and included in that is a $4 million Federal Govt grant. The hefty surplus of $8.7 million is what prompted Senate Estimates questions of the Commissioner for Charities and Not-For-Profits. My questions were about whether the RSPCA should continue to enjoy charitable status? We’re waiting for that answer as no-one could provide one on the day.

The RSPCA appears to be leveraging its charity branding to become heavily commercial. I have already mentioned the RSPCA approved meat and today RSPCA pet shops are being set up in the suburbs. On the face of it there is no problem. It is when we understand how the RSPCA is conducting itself under its Inspectorate powers, that we see the problem.

The RSPCA’s Inspectorate of RSPCA QLD, has power to investigate and confiscate animals that are poorly treated. That is the heart of what we expect from them. What we don’t expect is seizure of animals based on lies. We have dozens of examples where Inspectorate officers have entered properties and confiscated with no prior notification or investigation. All this is based on an anonymous tip off that is never disclosed to the property owners. The warrants JPs sign sometimes use photographs of animals in poor conditions, which do not match the animals to be seized. This is only the beginning. Some pet owners have then seen their animals online for sale within days. This is the problem when the RSPCA have a commercial arm alongside their charitable arm when they can confiscate and sell based on misuse of powers and lies. This is a clear conflict of interest.

Many pet shop owners, registered breeders, private pet owners, animal rescuers and veterinarians have experienced the full force of the RSPCA’s misuse of power. Many have spoken out against this strong arm approach and suffered the consequences. Pet shop businesses have been sabotaged when the RSPCA advises their suppliers to blacklist them based on false accusations of animal cruelty. Veterinarians who have spoken out against this behaviour have also suffered from the RSPCA spreading false accusations regarding their standards of animal care. Business have been decimated through this belligerent behaviour.

My two guests, who both own pet stores, join us to share their experiences with the RSPCA. Their stories are confronting. 

Leichelle and Nicole’s stories are extraordinary and not what we expect of a charity that is supposed to champion care and respect for animals. This unconscionable conduct is exploiting its charitable and tax-free status to create a multi-million dollar business. Its strong-arm approach is clearly outside of acceptable conduct under both the Acts. 

The RSPCA have become a law unto themselves, issuing warrants based on lies, not going through due process to investigate before seizing animals, extorting money out of people for housing their stolen animals and then annihilating local private businesses through negative media and malicious lies. It’s quite a rap sheet for the warm and fuzzy RSPCA we all grew up with.

This belligerent and intimidatory behaviour must stop. Their exploitation business model must be stopped.

I am calling for the RSPCA to be de-registered as a charity. I urge everyone to take your complaints to the ACCC and to the Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission for investigation. Everyone who donates to the RSPCA, think again. Any RSPCA employees, past or present, are invited to call my office and share their stories.

This behaviour has gone under the radar for too long. We need to bring the RSPCA back to the animal welfare organisation it is supposed to be.

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