Fed Farmers sickened by Macdonald's crimes

Manawatu's Federated Farmers president is sickened to hear Ewen Macdonald was responsible for emptying thousands of litres of milk from another farmer's milk vat, and beating 19 bobby calves to death.

Macdonald was earlier this month acquitted of Scott Guy's murder but earlier pleaded guilty to six other crimes.

The jury in Macdonald's murder trial were not told of the attacks on two Foxton farms, which were several years before Scott Guy's murder.

Federated Farmers Manawatu President Andrew Hoggard says he wouldn't expect another farmer would do that to one of their colleagues.

"A fellow dairy farmer should know the amount of work that goes in on a daily basis to look after those calves to produce that milk. To go and destroy it, it's pretty sick really."

But it's highly unlikely that the Government will change the law around disclosure of previous criminal records in court trials.

Ewen Macdonald was found not guilty of the murder of his brother in law, but the jury was never told he'd admitted killing calves, destroying milk and setting fire to a maimai.

Justice Minister Judith Collins doesn't think there's the political will to change current rules that prevented such evidence being available at Macdonald's murder trial.

"I don't think that we should jump to conclusions based on previous convictions, I don't think we should ever do that," she says.

Photo: Ewen Macdonald (NZ Herald)