Three men charged with animal cruelty offences in relation to the treatment of horses at a Queensland abattoir have pleaded guilty in court.
Biosecurity Queensland charged the three earlier this year following an ABC 7.30 investigation that featured the Meramist facility in Caboolture.
The program, which aired last October, included footage that showed former racehorses being kicked and hit before they were slaughtered.
Former Meramist employee Nicholas Jahrmann, who was accused of hitting a horse with a pipe, slamming a gate on a mob of horses in a run and kicking a horse, pleaded guilty in the Caboolture Magistrates court on Wednesday to three counts of animal cruelty prohibited.
He was fined $3,750.
Livestock transport operator Brian Munro pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty prohibited after he hit a horse with a "whip-like implement", and was fined $1,750.
Outside court, Munro described the court's decision as a "great outcome".
"I've had a fantastic result in there," he said.
"A lot of it was just media hype and well-edited videos, a lot of people with nothing better to do than point the finger.
"There's already the checks and balances in place up there and all the auditing which has been in place for a long time."
"It was good result.
"Thank Christ we've got judges like that in Australia."
Livestock transport operator Peter Lofell also pleaded guilty to three charges in relation to the investigation surrounding the abattoir.
Lofell admitted to breaches of the Animal Care and Protection Act, including failing to keep journey records and transporting the horses for more than 24 hours.
He was fined $1,200.
