De Lage Landen confiscate Ireland Angus cattle but sale in limbo

Rabobank’s finance arm confiscated cattle from Corey and Prue Ireland’s Angus stud to sell last November — but struck a snag.

Victoria Police were brought in to investigate a suspected theft of Angus cattle from the Barnawatha saleyards last November.

A DESPERATE creditor resorted to seizing cattle to recover a debt owed by Corey and Prue Ireland’s Riverina Angus operation, taking them to a Victorian saleyard to be sold.

Sources have told The Weekly Times, De Lage Landen, the financial arm of Rabobank, engaged Ruralco to muster 43 cattle from the Ireland’s Ivydell farm at Kyeamba near Wagga Wagga on November 13 last year while Mr Ireland was in Sydney.

The cattle were spirited away from the property to the Northern Victoria Livestock Exchange saleyards at Barnawartha for sale the next day.

But in a twist, early on the morning of the sale, November 14, the cattle were not in the pen they were supposed to be in and a report of theft from the saleyards was made to Victoria Police at Wodonga.

Detective Senior Constable Justin Foots, of Victoria Police’s Criminal Investigation Branch at Wodonga, said police investigated the matter but established within 24 hours that no ­offence had been committed.

Det Snr Const. Foots said the investigation determined cattle had been lawfully seized from the Irelands’ property in NSW as a repossession from the non-payment of a debt.

He said soon after the theft report to police, the cattle were found in a pen at the Barnawartha saleyards in what was “an administrative error”. A source told The Weekly Times the cattle were not sold and remain in the possession of DLL.

Mr Ireland said the finance obtained from DLL was for drought feed and ongoing costs, not the purchase of cattle.

“The matter with DLL is being resolved,” he said.

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The seizure of the cattle by DLL occurred the day before Mr and Mrs Ireland’s then family trustee company, CD & PJ Ireland Pty Ltd, was placed in liquidation by the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney.

That action was taken by East Coast Stockfeeds to recoup a debt of $43,000. DLL does not appear on the initial creditors’ report of CD & PJ Ireland, compiled by liquidators Andrew Bowcher and Tim Gumbleton, of RSM Australia Partners.

De Lage Landen managing director Michael McInerney said arrangements between DLL and its customers were “commercial in confidence” and he would not comment.

NSW Land Registry Services documents seen by The Weekly Times show DLL has placed a caveat over Mr Ireland’s interest in the Ivydell property to protect the debt owing to the financier, suggesting the original loan was to Mr Ireland and a debt was still outstanding.

Mr Ireland said the caveat registered by DLL was “being resolved”.