Farmers gathered at Stormont on Monday morning in protest against over the shooting of 51 cattle near Fivemiletown – with calls for the Alliance minister to “come clean” on who ordered the destruction and why it was carried out in the manner reported.
TUV Cusher councillor Keith Ratcliffe said the incident has sent shockwaves through the local farming community and across Northern Ireland.
The cattle were destroyed in a field near Fivemiletown in June.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has said it was enforcing a court order following the owner’s previous conviction on animal welfare grounds.
Alliance Minister Andrew Muir has insisted there was “no reasonable alternative” to the animals being euthanised on site, and that veterinary staff had assessed that removing them for destruction elsewhere was “simply not possible”.
However, farmers and political representatives have condemned how the cull was carried out, with claims that some animals – including heavily in-calf cows and calves – were shot in open view, gunfire was heard and carcasses were left visible to members of the public. One councillor described the scene as “like a wild west”.
On Monday, hundreds of farmers – including members of Farmers For Action and the Ulster Farmers’ Union – gathered at Stormont to protest as the Assembly’s agriculture committee held an emergency meeting on the incident.
The Ulster Farmers’ Union had urged members to attend, branding the operation “barbaric” and demanding “justice” and the resignation of Minister Muir.
Cllr Keith Ratcliffe said the episode has fuelled deep unease about DAERA’s actions and the minister’s position.
“While Fivemiletown isn’t in the Newry and Armagh area, the destruction of animals on a farm outside the town has shocked farmers across the Province, including locally,” he said.
“The manner in which these animals were killed has become a major topic of discussion within the agricultural community. Many farmers believe that, had they treated livestock in a similar manner and caused the apparent suffering witnessed at Fivemiletown, they would be facing prosecution.
“This has only added to the already considerable unease surrounding Minister Muir. Frankly, I no longer believe he is fit to hold office.”
Cllr Ratcliffe argued that the legal basis for the department’s actions does not explain why on‑farm shooting was chosen.
“Earlier this week the Minister released a statement which sought to provide cover for his Department by suggesting that there was no alternative to destroying the animals. That does not address the fundamental issue.
“DAERA obtained a deprivation order in relation to the animals and their previous owner. It was not a destruction order. A deprivation order gave the Department control of the animals; it did not require their destruction.
“The Minister therefore needs to come clean about who decided that these animals should be killed, why alternative options for their disposal were rejected and why they were destroyed in the manner reported.
“These are straightforward questions which Minister Muir has so far failed to answer. Farmers deserve answers and the public deserves answers.”
DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley, speaking at the Stormont protest on Monday, described the incident as “an absolute disgrace” and accused the department of double standards on animal welfare.
“It’s Monday morning, farmers want to be on their farms, looking after their cattle, trying to make a living. But today they’re at Stormont, and they’re at Stormont for a reason, because the Department for Agriculture, led by the Alliance Party’s Andrew Muir, overseen what can only be described as an absolute disgrace, with the slaughtering of 51 healthy cattle on a farm in Five Mile Town in an open field, it was disgraceful,” he said.
“Cattle that were heavily in calf, calves being shot, left for the public to view. There’s nothing short of a scandal within the Department for Agriculture, the department breach animal welfare on one side and do exactly the opposite on the other.
“So today, hundreds of farmers have gathered to express their anger towards Andrew Muir and his department staff. The committee’s just meeting. Now it’s over to this minister. Answer the questions. What did you know about this action prior to taking place? And more importantly, if you knew, what did you do to stop it?”
Minister Muir has previously stated that, in general, it is “preferable” for animals to be removed from a premises and euthanised elsewhere, but that in this case his department’s veterinary staff assessed that such an option was not viable.
He has said that DAERA staff used “the most suitable areas within the field” in an attempt to minimise exposure to public view.
