Press Release – Ministry For Primary Industries A dairy farmer has been fined $ 3,250 for unlawfully performing a significant surgical procedure, amputating the teats of seven cows using rubber rings as a tourniquet. Pieter Nicholaas Smit, 60, was sentenced at the Morrinsville District Court for one representative animal welfare charge, after earlier pleading guilty. The case was brought to court by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). MPI Animal Welfare and National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) Regional Compliance Manager, Brendon Mikkelsen, says Mr Smit failed to provide appropriate care to the animals. “Teat removal is a significant surgical procedure. It should be undertaken by a veterinarian using anaesthesia.”