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IN THE NEWS: On JAN 24, 2010
THE RSPCA has apologised to the public and sacked a staff member after a bungle led to the acquittal of five suspects in SA's biggest alleged animal cruelty case.
Thomas and Patricia Brinkworth - two of the state's most prominent graziers - were accused of allowing about 800 cattle to suffer by being "gradually starved to death" during the drought in 2007.
However, key evidence was ruled inadmissible in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday.
The Brinkworths and three employees were subsequently found not guilty of all 113 charges.
The RSPCA has vowed to do everything in its power to prevent "something like this happening again".
RSPCA president Sheree Sellick said the outcome was "beyond words for us".
"I'm almost speechless with the shock of it and the implications," she said .
"We consulted with barristers about what our position was, and we were quite sick when we couldn't proceed with the case."
An employee who prepared the paperwork had been sacked for misconduct, Ms Sellick said.
In March last year, RSPCA operations manager Ben Johns described the prosecution as one of the biggest cases of alleged animal cruelty in South Australian history.
Mr Johns alleged cattle were too sick to stand up and were left on the ground to suffer.
He also alleged that the RSPCA had found "approximately 800 carcasses or animals that had to be destroyed".
The charges against the Brinkworths - who own 68 properties - related to 10 properties between Keith and Kingston in the state's South-East. Guilty verdicts could have resulted in jail terms and fines exceeding $1 million.
Ms Sellick, who declined to give details about the misconduct, described the outcome as "horrendous".
"(It's) not because we didn't have evidence, but because of this problem with a senior employee doing the wrong thing in preparing the paperwork for the case," she said.
"It rendered the evidence inadmissible."
The Brinkworths were found not guilty of 61 counts of ill treatment of an animal and nine counts of breaching a national code of practice on the welfare of cattle. A station manager, a livestock manager and another employee were also cleared of 43 counts of ill treatment of an animal.
RSPCA SA chief executive Steve Lawrie said it was not possible to bring further charges.
"We're absolutely devastated by this, it was such a big case," he said.
"We tendered no evidence and the courts allowed acquittal and the defendants entered a not guilty plea."
In a statement, Mr Lawrie apologised to the court and the community.
"It is critical that we do everything we possibly can to minimise the risk of something like this happening again," he wrote.
Mr Brinkworth's barrister, Michael Abbott, QC, stressed that a finding of not guilty had been made.
"There wasn't a question of the charges being withdrawn, as reported," he said. An application to recover "substantial" court costs from the RSPCA had been made and it would be heard in April.
The Sunday Mail has been unable to contact the Brinkworths for comment.