A West Coast dairy farmer has been fined $15,000 for breaking two cows' tails and failing to treate the broken tails of 210 cows.

Warren Arthur McNabb was today sentenced in the Nelson District Court for one charge of reckless ill-treatment for allegedly breaking the two cows' tails and one charge of failing to ensure 210 dairy cows with broken tails received treatment. 

He pleaded guilty to both charges last month. 

The 58-year-old was also banned from milking cows for six months and ordered to pay $2031.70 in court cost, reparation and solicitors' fees.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) brought the case to court after animal welfare inspectors and a vet discovered that 210 of McNabb's 446 milking cows had broken tails while inspecting his Karamea farm in November 2015. 20 cows had multiple breaks. 

None of the cows had had their injuries treated by a vet.

MPI Canterbury-Westland district compliance manager Howard Reid said the vet who found the cows told MPI the cows' injuries were "systematic of prolonged animal abuse". 

"He added that he had never seen this scale of abuse before in his professional career."

Experts testified in court that the level of pain the cows would have been in was similar to what a human felt when they had broken fingers. 

"Scientific research indicates it would require significantly more force to break a tail than dislocate a finger and the breaking of a tail or twisting would cause immediate, severe pain and distress," said Reid. 

McNabb had been stressed at the time of the abuse, but the sentencing judge said this "did not justify the maltreatment of animals".

"There is never any excuse for animal abuse," said Reid.

MPI referred stressed farmers Rural Support for help and support coping with stress, Reid said.​