Woman avoids jail for cattle rustling in outback Western Australia

One of two West Australian pastoralists convicted of stealing cattle worth about $40,000 from neighbouring stations has avoided being sent to jail.

Rachael Third, who with her husband Richard Arends ran Edmund Station in the Gascoyne region, had pleaded guilty to one count of stealing 60 head of cattle during 2020.

The WA District Court was told the cattle belonged to two nearby stations, which were owned by an Aboriginal corporation.

After being stolen during mustering, the tags in the animals’ ears were then changed to falsely indicate they belonged to Edmund Station.

Of 60 cattle stolen, 42 were sold for a profit of about $38,000.

The names of the two stations from which the cattle were stolen are Maroonah and Mangaroon stations, which were owned at the time by the Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation.

Judge Charlotte Wallace said it was rare for cases of this nature to come before the courts because they were difficult to investigate and to prosecute.

But she said the theft of livestock in rural areas was a matter of concern, particularly because cattle were not restrained or constantly supervised.

The court was told the couple had felt aggrieved after becoming aware that about 40 of their cattle had wandered into a neighbouring station, but they had not been made aware of what had happened.

Judge Wallace accepted that the theft of the cattle was not motivated solely by greed but had happened, partly, to minimise the financial hardship they were facing.

She said while the offence was serious, there was a number of mitigating factors in Third’s case, including her prior good character and hardship to her two young children if she was given a custodial sentence.

Judge Wallace told the hearing in Perth she accepted that Third’s role was “not crucial or essential” to the theft, but said the 40-year-old did play an important part because she assisted Arends, who was the instigator.

A suspended sentence

Judge Wallace imposed a sentence of 10 months jail but suspended the term for 12 months, meaning if Third committed another crime during that time she could be forced to serve her sentence behind bars.

Third’s guilty plea to the stealing charge came midway through the trial in which she and Arends faced a string of charges alleging they had stolen cattle worth about $800,000 from four stations.

They both denied any wrongdoing, with their lawyers suggesting the cattle that were allegedly stolen were wild and wandering about unbranded, unfed, unwatered and unfenced.

Arends also pleaded guilty to one stealing charge and is due to be sentenced in February next year.

Charges of stealing and money laundering were discontinued after the couple entered their guilty pleas.