Farmer lets 14 of his 21 horses starve to death in a bare, drought-stricken Queensland paddock


Farmer lets 14 of his 21 horses starve to death in a bare, drought-stricken paddock while he worked on another property 800km away

  • Man pleads guilty to breach of duty of care to horses on Queensland property
  • Terence John Oberle, 74, was responsible for animals on Toowoomba farm 
  • He allowed 14 of the 21 horses to starve to death while others lived near carcuses

A farmer who admitted neglecting 21 horses has been fined $20,000 after 14 of them starved to death and the living lived among their corpses.

Terence John Oberle, 74, pleaded guilty to 21 charges of breach of duty of care to animals in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

The horses were left for dead in a bare, drought-stricken paddock with minimal water and no food while he worked at another property 800km away.

‘He demonstrated reckless disregard for the wellbeing of the horses,’ Magistrate Howard Osborne said in court. 

Terence Oberle pleads guilty to breaching duty of care after 14 of his 21 horses starved to death and the living were forced to live among their corpses

Terence Oberle pleads guilty to breaching duty of care after 14 of his 21 horses starved to death and the living were forced to live among their corpses

The charges relate to horses in his possession at a property in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, in late 2019 and early 2020. 

Animal rights activists raised concerns in January last year, saying eight horses were surrounded by the carcasses and skeletons of numerous others.

Among the survivors was ex-racehorse Flagflamenco, a now-12-year-old mare that was still listed as active by Racing Australia at that time.

Oberle was told in November 2019 his horses were starving and ordered 20 low-quality bales of hay to be delivered. 

The horse was so emaciated she was struggling to walk, Animal Liberation Queensland executive director Chay Neal told AAP after visiting the horses in January 2020.

An estimated 30 horses died on the property based on the number of corpses and skeletal remains identified in January 2020, Mr Neal said on Tuesday.

The horses look deeply emaciated, with ribs and bones visible as many are unable to walk

The horses look deeply emaciated, with ribs and bones visible as many are unable to walk

‘Were it not for the assistance of outside parties monitoring and providing feed to the horses, the outcome may have been even more tragic for the surviving horses,’ he added.

Oberle’s representatives said the man was tasked with working on a 800-strong cattle farm 10 hours away from the property and he was unable to leave due to animals constantly walking onto the highway.

He ran a 3,439 hectare property alone that ran along the Bruce Highway and claimed that job prevented him from properly caring for the starving horses. 

The magistrate disagreed, however, saying Oberle should know better after working with animals for more than 50 years.

Oberle was fined $20,000 and given an 10-year restriction on buying or acquiring horses, except for the six he already owns. 

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