White Rocks owner and dairy farmer Michael Partridge labels James Warden a ‘thief’ over vegan protest stoush

The farmer at the centre of a vegan protest stoush has expressed disappointment at the sentence handed to two convicted men after notorious activist James Warden vowed to continue his crusade. Warden, 25, avoided jail on Tuesday after he was found guilty of breaking in to the White Rocks farm in Brunswick and stealing a calf. White Rocks owner and fifth-generation dairy farmer Michael Partridge said he was more disappointed by Warden’s actions outside the courtroom than the “light” sentence. “It obviously hasn’t been a deterrent,” Mr Partridge said. Warden was sentenced to a suspended 10-month jail term after he was found guilty in the Perth Magistrate’s Court of breaking into Mr Partridge’s farm in October, 2018 and stealing an 11-day-old calf. Warden received a suspended two-month jail term for trespassing on a Pinjarra piggery and stealing a dead piglet, which he later displayed at a protest in Belmont on a box surrounded by flowers. Outside the courtroom after the verdict Warden declared: “we are not stopping”. Mr Partridge said these actions showed Warden had not learnt from the experience. “I am more disappointed in his actions after the verdict itself,” he said. “He snubbed the legal system, shows no remorse and says he will continue to do it.” Warden’s co-offender Arkadiusz Swiebodzinksi, 26, was also convicted of aggravated burglary and stealing over the calf theft and was fined $5000. Mr Partridge said the fine was small when compared to the fines facing farmers for biosecurity breaches. “They took the National Livestock Identification System tag out of the calf’s ear,” he said. “If we did that, the fine is $20,000.” Mr Partridge was critical of Warden’s claim that he was rescuing a sick calf. “At the end of the day ... he is a thief,” Mr Partridge said. “He said he rescued a sick calf, but all he did was steal a perfectly healthy calf. It might be everyone’s right to save a sick animal, but not to break in to someone’s property and steal a healthy animal.” Mr Partridge praised the efforts of police throughout their investigations. “I’d like to thank the police for the amount of effort they put in to this case,” he said. “They really made efforts to nip this in the bud. “They were clearly worried that someone might get hurt.” He hopes he can return to “normal life” now the case is over. “I’m done with it,” Mr Partridge said. “I hope to just go back to business as usual. “We have got nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. “I am proud of our farm and the way we take care of our animals.”