Gardaí hunt joyriders who rammed cattle herd

KIERAN HOWLETT found the bullocks lying in agony. They may have been there for up to eight hours before they were discovered.

Joyriders broke into one of Mr Howlett’s fields in Newtownrathganley, near Kilcock, Co Meath, in the early hours of Saturday morning. They chased the herd, ramming two of them and hitting them so hard that their back legs were shattered in a number of places.

“They were in fierce distress. They were still alive. It was sickening to look at,” said Mr Howlett, 30.