Kimberley Aboriginal corporation, ex-CEO face cruelty charges after hundreds of cattle die ‘mired in mud’

An Indigenous corporation and its former chief executive at the centre of animal cruelty charges have appeared in Broome Magistrates Court, after hundreds of cattle allegedly died “mired in mud” on a Kimberley station. Yungngora Association Incorporated and Christopher Stanley Wilkin appeared in Broome Magistrates Court on Monday, each facing 25 counts of being a person who was cruel to an animal. Both Yungngora and Mr Wilkin previously entered pleas of not guilty to all charges on May 10. The parties were charged under the State’s Animal Welfare Act by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in December, after an investigation by department compliance officers. It was alleged nearly 500 cattle died of thirst on Noonkanbah Station in December 2018, with many of the animals having collapsed near water points which had dried up during the unusually dry wet season. At least 85 were said to have been put down. Mr Wilkin arrived at Noonkanbah in 2017 with his wife but it is understood he has now left the community. Magistrate Stephen Sharratt said the cattle were found “mired in mud, stuck in troughs and in a weak state,” with many unable to walk. “I have no doubt there will be other issues arising,” he said. The court was also told management at the time the alleged offences occurred was in a “state of flux.” Yungngora and Mr Wilkin will next appear in Broome Magistrates Court on March 24 next year.