File photo. Photo: RNZ / Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
A Canterbury farmer is being fined nearly $14,000 for failing to register his deer before moving them off his farm.
Under the current system, all cattle and deer must tagged and registered to the national animal identification and tracing scheme before being moved off farm or by the time the animal is 180 days old.
The Ministry for Primary Industries said the scheme was a critical tool when fighting biosecurity threats.
John Wheeler, 60, a Lake Tekapo farmer, was sentenced in the Timaru District court on four charges under the national animal identification and tracing act.
Wheeler had tagged his 295 deer but failed to register them before they were moved from his farm.