A farmers' union has called for the Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir to resign over his department's investigation into a cull of 51 cattle. They were shot in County Tyrone in June, leading to complaints about the manner of the cull which was carried out within earshot of members of the public. The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) President John McLenaghan said there were serious concerns about the independence of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Deara) review into the incident.
The union has also called for the immediate resignations of the department's permanent secretary Katrina Godfrey and the Chief Veterinary Officer Brian Dooher. An external review of the cattle cull was announced by Deara earlier this month, but the UFU's Executive Committee met on Thursday night. In a statement on Friday the UFU said it "does not have the confidence in the independence of the review as presently constituted, including the scope of the Terms of Reference and appointment of a single person to conduct it.
"The UFU has consistently maintained that an investigation into an incident of this seriousness must be demonstrably independent, robust and capable of commanding the confidence of farm families and the wider public." John McLenaghan said calling for resignations was "not a decision the UFU has taken lightly". "However, confidence has been severely damaged and the most recent event is just one of many instances where farmers feel that the Department has lost touch with farmers. "We no longer have confidence that the Department can deliver." BBC News NI has contacted Deara for a response.
Cattle cull witness says shootings were something no-one should ever see External review ordered into 'wild west' style shooting of 51 cattle Questions over 'wild west' style shooting of 50 cattle, as review carried out Warning: This article contains an image of dead animals that some may find distressing Animal welfare inspections on the farm dating back to 2022 identified serious concerns, including 33 animal carcasses, feed contaminated with urine and faeces, and emaciated animals. The farmer was found guilty of a number of animal welfare offences in May and disqualified from keeping animals for life. • Thirteen charges of failure to dispose of an animal carcass. • One charge of failure to comply with an Animal By-Products notice. • Six charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. • One charge of failure to produce medicine records. The court issued a deprivation order on 8 June - that the farmer must have the animals removed from his ownership.
As is practice, he was given two weeks to appeal the sentence, or to transfer, sell or give away his stock. On 29 June, when the extended grace period had lapsed, the departmental humane slaughter team arrived at the farm to begin destruction of the remaining 51 animals by shooting them. Some members of the public witnessed the operation in one of the three areas across the farm that the animals were in.
Questions about how the operation was conducted were first raised by a local councillor, then concerns were expressed by politicians and farming leaders. The AERA committee was recalled to discuss the incident, and quiz the minister and veterinary officials. The committee heard that officials had been working with the farmer after "numerous" inspections, beginning in 2022.
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