AzRen Farms: Biosecurity breach-accused Renee and Aaron Winfield excused from attending court to go on holiday

A South West farming couple accused of 52 biosecurity breaches, involving the sale of thousands of livestock, have been excused from attending court so they can take an extended interstate holiday. Renee Helen Winfield, 47, and Aaron John Winfield, 44, appeared in Busselton Magistrates Court on Tuesday, accused of failing to transfer the ownership of nearly 12,000 sheep and selling untagged livestock to an abattoir. During their brief court appearance, their defence counsel Jana MacAdam told the court a further adjournment was required as discussions between defence and prosecution relating to the allegations were still ongoing due to the volume of charges and relevant material. As Magistrate Benjamin Tyers moved to grant a four-week adjournment, Ms MacAdam requested for her clients to have leave to appear via audio link on the next occasion as the couple were set to embark on a three-month trip to Queensland. It is understood the holiday had been planned for some time and the court had previously been informed of their travel plans. As neither Mr nor Mrs Winfield were subject to any bail conditions that barred them from leaving Western Australia, police prosecutors told the court they had no issue with the couple not physically attending court. Noting that the couple had previously been issued with a notice of adjournments, Mr Tyers told Ms McAdam the couple were not required to attend court if they had legal representation. “As long as someone appears on their behalf, they don’t need to be here unless they’re planning on entering a plea,” he said. The matters were adjourned to June, with both Mr and Mrs Winfield excused from attending court. Police say the couple had sheep at an abattoir in the South West bearing no identifying features, such as a National Livestock Identification System device or NLIS tag, between March 2021 and November 2022. The pair are also alleged to have purchased 11,938 sheep from 16 different suppliers, some over multiple transactions, and failing to transfer ownership on the NLIS within 48 hours. Inquiries have been ongoing since October last year in relation to these charges, with police saying they are unsure of where the livestock may now be. The farmers are each facing two counts of possessing or controlling a live animal that was not appropriately identified, and 24 counts of causing or permitting stock to be moved to a property without the same PIC (property identification code) and not recording details in the NLIS database within 48 hours.