THE animal activist who tipped ham into the feed of a shipment of sheep bound for the Middle East, appeared in the Federal court yesterday.

Ralph Hahnheuser, who delayed a shipment of 72,000 sheep in November 2003 for two weeks, appeared in the Federal Court for a damages hearing.

The shipment delay was estimated to have cost exporters more than $1.25 million as Mr Hahnheuser’s action made the sheep unacceptable for the Muslim market.

In October 2007 the Federal court judge, Justice Peter Gray dismissed a $500,000 damages claim that Samex Australian Meat Company and Rural Export and Trading had brought against Mr Hahnheuser for tipping shredded ham into the sheep feed at the feedlot in Portland.

Justice Gray found that Mr Hahnheuser did not breach the Trade Practices Act because his ``dominant purpose…was substantially related to environmental protection and his conduct was not industrial action.’’

That decision was overturned by the full bench of the Federal court in August last year and sent back to Justice Gray for a damages hearing.

Mr Hahnheuser, from South Australia, attended the hearing yesterday, despite not attending the full-bench hearing last year.

Justice Gray reserved his decision until a later date.