Court date set for woman charged with deaths of more than 70 cattle south of Alice Springs

A woman is set to appear in court later this year after police charged her in relation to the deaths of dozens of cattle in the Red Centre. Read what we know.

Alice Springs Local Court. Picture: Gera Kazakov

A 55-year-old woman has been charged over dozens of cattle deaths in the Red Centre, with police alleging the cows were deliberately deprived of drinking water for 10 days.

The woman – who has not been named – will appear in Alice Springs Local Court December 3 after police charged her with minimum level of care under section 23 of the 2018 Animal Protection Act.

Police said the woman was an employee at the Arid Research Zone Institute when 71 cattle were “found deceased or dying” at the facility, located 20km south of Alice Springs.

The charges come after a 12 month investigation was launched by the Department of Industry, Tourism, and Trade, which police said was later referred to them.

Police said their investigation uncovered the cattle were not checked upon for 10 days, nor were they given access to drinking water for the same amount of time.

While initial reports suggested the cattle may have been poisoned, police said the department investigation confirmed the cattle’s cause of death as “dehydration due to prolonged water deprivation”.