The mass shooting of 51 cattle during a DAERA enforcement operation in Co Tyrone has been branded “one of the biggest scandals the department has ever faced”.
It has been publicly reported that 51 cattle were destroyed by shooting as part of the execution of a court order on farmland in the Fivemiletown area.
Footage and eyewitness accounts of the incident have been widely shared online, prompting public outcry across the farming community and beyond.
DUP Agriculture spokesperson Carla Lockhart said she welcomed confirmation from Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir that an external review will take place, but insisted only a full, independent public inquiry will satisfy public concern.
“Minister Andrew Muir has a very serious issue on his hands, and a lot of important questions remain unanswered,” the Upper Bann MP said.
“We don’t need a review to know that what happened is very alarming and wrong. This situation cannot be resolved through carefully worded statements or a ‘lessons learned’ internal review.
“We need a full, truly independent public inquiry into what happened, who authorised it, how it was allowed to happen and who must ultimately be held accountable.”
Ms Lockhart said she has written to DAERA requesting the terms of reference for the announced review and has sought a meeting with Minister Muir, DAERA permanent secretary Katrina Godfrey and chief veterinary officer Brian Dooher.
“It is crucial that this review is dealt with urgently and independently. This has turned the public spotlight on Northern Ireland agriculture for all the wrong reasons, and could potentially have wider and deeply damaging repercussions for the entire agri-food sector,” she warned.
The DUP MP said thousands of people across Northern Ireland and further afield had watched “deeply upsetting” scenes in the press and on social media.
“I fully recognise that court orders must be enforced, and that is not the issue. The real question is where and how this operation was carried out,” she said.
“Witnesses have described scenes ‘like the Wild West’, with reports of cattle being chased around fields before being shot while members of the public, including children, looked on.
“These accounts raise very serious questions about breaches of animal welfare, health and safety, and professional conduct regulations, and whether the operation was carried out in a manner the public would reasonably expect from a government department.”
She also called for answers on policing of the incident, stating: “Clarification is also sought as to why the PSNI were ‘unable to respond’ to reports of gunfire in the area, lasting almost twelve hours.”
Ms Lockhart said that in recent days, at events across Northern Ireland, the Fivemiletown operation had been “without exception the dominant topic of conversation”.
“The words I heard repeatedly were furious, sickened, appalled and horrified. The strength of public feeling is unlike anything I have witnessed for a very long time,” she said.
“Farmers and members of the public simply cannot comprehend what has taken place in a quiet rural area. There is a widespread belief that if any individual or private organisation had carried out an operation in this manner, they would now be the subject of a major investigation. There cannot be one rule for the public and another for a government department.”
People, she said, now wanted “honesty, accountability and full transparency”.
“They want to know who authorised this operation, why these methods were used, whether alternative options were properly considered and what safeguards will now be put in place to ensure nothing like this will ever happen again.
“I do not believe this is the standard of professionalism that Northern Ireland’s farmers should expect from DAERA. Confidence in the department has been badly damaged by the way this operation has been handled.”
The MP praised the efforts of her party colleagues Deborah Erskine MLA and local councillor Mark Robinson, whom she said had been “on the ground, raising the issue with DAERA, and ensuring the concerns of local people have been heard loud and clear”.
She also welcomed confirmation that DUP deputy leader Michelle McIlveen has helped secure an extraordinary meeting of the Stormont Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA) Committee, due to take place next Monday, 10 August.
“Northern Ireland’s farmers deserve a department that portrays professionalism, sound judgement, compassion and common sense. Right now, confidence has been badly shaken,” Ms Lockhart concluded.
“It is now up to Minister Andrew Muir and DAERA to provide the answers the public deserve, restore confidence in the department and ensure that this catastrophe is never repeated.”
