Cattle cull described as ‘pure slaughter’

THE Department of Agriculture has defended its decision to call in army snipers to shoot cattle, some of which were pregnant, on a north Cork farm.

Roger Broderick’s entire herd of 31 cattle was shot in a field on his farm at Rockspring, Liscarroll, on Tuesday because the individual animals were not tagged.

The tags are required by law to identify cattle, trace and monitor their movements and to help prevent the spread of diseases like tuberculosis.

But locals, who declined to be named, described the cull as “pure slaughter”.

One farmer said people accept that the animals should have been tagged.

“But people are devastated by what happened,” he said.

“This was pure slaughter. The army just started shooting. The cattle started running when the first shot was fired.

“But they just kept firing. Some cattle were pregnant. Some took five or six shots before going down.

“There were calves there too — just a few months old — and they were shot too.”

Another neighbour described the incident as straight out of the “wild west”.

“There is a certain amount of sympathy for the farmer involved because of the way this was done,” she said.

“You’d think the cattle would have been taken away and culled humanely.”

However, the department defended the operation which was overseen by local gardaí.

A spokesperson said the farm did not have cattle handling facilities and rounding up the herd could have posed dangers to department staff.

“Following discussions with the farmer concerned and given the difficulties in restraining the animals in the absence of handling facilities, it was decided to request the assistance of the Defence Forces,” she said.

“Arrangements are being made for the appropriate removal and disposal of the slaughtered animals.”

A Defence Forces spokesman said cull operations involving snipers is rare — with about four or five in recent years.

He said the army was called in following a request from the Department of Agriculture, through the Garda Síochána.

Four snipers from Collins Barracks in Cork city fired up to 50 rounds during the two-hour operation, which took place at lunchtime on Tuesday.

The spokesman said the site and surrounding area was inspected before the cull began to ensure the fall of shot region — where bullets are fired and where they may fall — was clear.

“No members of the public were in danger,” he said.

The marksmen used standard issue sniper rifle to shoot the cattle.

The spokesman said they are highly trained experts who would have selected the best shot to minimise distress to the animals.

The carcasses were left in the field until late Tuesday night before they were removed for disposal.

There is a tuberculosis outbreak in the Liscarroll area at the moment.

Department of Agriculture officials have visited several farms in the area in recent months and warned farmers they would be taking aggressive action to contain the outbreak.

Cattle suspected of being infected with TB must be slaughtered. It is only when an animal is dead that the presence of the disease can be confirmed.

Compassion in World Farming declined to comment on the incident.