Mick Mepham was at his Moorland home, near Taree, on Tuesday when a team of police and RSPCA inspector s stormed the rural property at about 7.30am and arrested his partner, Colin Baker, 38.
Animal rights activists who broke into a piggery and installed hidden cameras to record alleged incidents of animal cruelty, found more than they bargained for when the checked the footage.
Police allege Joel Kerim, 29, and Mikayla Kerim, 26, committed the offences at a rural property on a 17-year-old mare called Gemma and a 14-month-old border collie dog called Ekko.