Farmer admits animal cruelty charge

A North Cork farmer pleaded guilty today to charges including cruelty to animals after an inspection of his farm found 47 dead cattle and many more live and malnourished cows standing among the carcasses.

"I got a stench, a strange odour, and I went to the farmyard. I met the farmer, Finbarr O’Reilly, and asked him could he smell anything and he said, "no". I asked him were there any dead animals on the farm and he said, "one or two"," Garda John O’Neill of Rathduff Garda Station said at Cork District Court today.

He was giving evidence in the case where Finbarr O’Reilly, aged 35, of Newgrove, Whitechurch, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to six charges arising out of what was found at his farm on June 18.

He admitted two counts of animal cruelty, two counts of failing to dispose of carcasses and two breaches of BSE regulations by failing to dispose of specific risk material in carcasses.

Out of 170 cattle on the farm on that date, 47 were dead. Two gates were tied together with bailing twine to keep a shed closed. Garda O’Neill went in.

"I saw dead animals on the ground to my right, more cattle to my left, live ones and dead ones. I had to leave the shed to get air," he said.

O’Reilly then told the guard there were 26 dead animals in the shed and 18 to 20 live ones.

Before the guard even went into the shed he saw two dead animals in the farmyard, one lying in a silage pit.

"I asked Mr O’Reilly why the gates of the shed were tied and he said, "in case any of the animals tried to get out"," Garda O’Neill said.

In all there were 47 dead animals on the farm. After hearing evidence about the remarkable turn around of the farm not least through a phenomenal effort by the local community, Judge Con O’Leary adjourned sentencing until April 23, 2003.