DAERA says it had ‘no reasonable alternative’ to euthanising 51 Fivemiletown cattle

The shocking sight of livestock shot by DAERA officials in a field near Fivemile town, County Fermanagh

DAERA has defended its decision to euthanise 51 cattle near Fivemiletown, saying officials were left with “no reasonable alternative” after their owner failed to dispose of the herd following a lifetime court ban on keeping animals.

However, farming representatives say major questions remain over whether every possible alternative was exhausted, why more cattle could not have been sold and how the operation was planned and authorised.

Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir issued an urgent written statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly today, Thursday 6 August, setting out the Department’s account of the controversial operation on 29 and 30 June.

The Minister also confirmed that DAERA staff have received threats and been subjected to online, written and face-to-face abuse, including what he described as “clearly misogynistic” commentary.

An externally led review is now being arranged, with its terms of reference due to be published shortly and its findings expected by early autumn.

The Assembly’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee will hold an extraordinary meeting at Stormont on Monday 10 August, where DAERA officials are expected to face detailed questioning from MLAs and farming representatives.

Court order followed animal welfare convictions

According to a Ministerial statement made today to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the case arose after the cattle’s keeper was convicted on 8 June 2026 of 21 offences.

These included 13 charges of failing to dispose of an animal carcase, one charge of failing to comply with an Animal By-Products notice, six charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and one charge of failing to produce medicine records.

The court disqualified the individual for life from keeping, owning or participating in the keeping of animals.

The ban also prevented the individual from being involved in an arrangement under which animals are kept or from transporting or arranging the transportation of animals.

A deprivation order was issued requiring the animals remaining in the individual’s possession to be removed.

Under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, a court can deprive a person convicted of certain offences of ownership of an animal and order its disposal, including its destruction.

DAERA is legally required to comply with such orders.

Keeper given three weeks to dispose of herd

Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir

Although the court order took immediate effect, Mr Muir said officials gave the keeper an extended period of three weeks to sell or otherwise dispose of the animals.

During that period, DAERA advised the keeper of the steps required to divest himself of all animals registered to his herd.

The Minister said only a small number were disposed of, leaving 51 cattle still on the farm and in the possession of the disqualified keeper.

Officials then considered animal welfare, animal health, disease control, traceability, food-chain integrity, public health and the potential cost to the public purse.

Mr Muir told MLAs:

“I am advised that after careful consideration of all available options, the department was unfortunately left with no reasonable alternative to comply with the court order, other than to euthanise the animals.”

DAERA said removing the animals from the premises and euthanising them elsewhere would normally have been preferable.

However, its professional veterinary staff concluded that this was not possible in the circumstances.

The reasons given included an alleged lack of suitable and safe facilities on the farm in which to gather and contain the cattle, the animals’ temperament, the stress associated with handling them and concerns about their suitability for transport.

Some of the cattle were horned, and DAERA said it was not possible to transport the entire herd away from the location.

Those claims are expected to come under close scrutiny, with the Ulster Farmers’ Union saying it has received reports that the animals were extremely quiet and seeking answers about what handling facilities were available.

Cattle euthanised across three sites

A young calf shot in the neck in the incident near Fivemiletown

DAERA’s Humane Slaughter Team euthanised 50 cattle on Monday 29 June, with the final animal euthanised on the morning of Tuesday 30 June.

The Minister said staff in the team were highly trained and followed legislative requirements and best practice intended to provide a humane death.

He said the specialists were respected across Ireland and Britain and were sometimes asked to assist colleagues in other jurisdictions.

The team is used infrequently but can also be deployed during animal disease outbreaks.

Mr Muir strongly rejected claims made about the conduct of DAERA staff during the operation.

He said:

“Officials have outlined that no animal was chased around fields by DAERA staff, no animal was shot multiple times, nor were there sounds of loud gunfire.

“It is standard practice that silencers are used, an important detail both from an animal welfare and from a public concern perspective.”

DAERA said staff continually assessed the operation on site, including the risk that members of the public could see what was happening.

The cattle were euthanised in what officials considered the most suitable parts of the fields to limit public visibility and maximise safety.

Complete screening from every possible viewpoint could not be guaranteed.

Two of the three sites were described as very remote, with limited public access. The cattle at those locations had been euthanised by around 1.30pm on 29 June without incident.

Attempt to purchase animals halted operation

According to the Minister’s statement, difficulties arose at the third site when a local farmer approached DAERA staff and expressed an interest in buying some of the cattle.

The operation was immediately stopped to allow time and space for a possible transaction.

DAERA said the prospective buyer, another individual and the herd keeper were permitted to move the animals from a field into a lorry.

Mr Muir alleged that the individuals chased the cattle “for a significant period of time” before releasing them on to a public road, creating further health and safety risks.

DAERA staff later intervened because the individuals had been unable to detain the cattle, which the Department said had become stressed.

A small number of protesters were present at the site, but DAERA said its operation did not resume until they had left.

With help from neighbouring farmers, staff moved the remaining cattle from the road before they were euthanised.

The incident is central to questions now being raised by farming representatives.

They want DAERA to explain why the expression of interest from another farmer did not result in some or all of the remaining herd being sold and at what stage officials made the final decision that euthanasia was unavoidable.

Carcases removed the following morning

Responsibility for disposing of euthanised animals would normally rest with the disqualified keeper.

However, because the individual had also been convicted of failing to dispose of animal by-products relating to diseased animals, DAERA arranged and paid for the collection and disposal of the cattle.

Current procedures require collection to take place only after an operation has finished for health and safety reasons.

The animals were therefore collected and disposed of on the morning of 30 June.

PSNI contact difficulties to be examined

The PSNI was advised on Friday 26 June that the operation would take place.

Police officers attended the location on the morning of 29 June and, according to the Minister, raised no concerns about the planned operation.

Officers also advised DAERA staff how to contact police if problems arose.

However, Mr Muir said staff experienced difficulties contacting the PSNI through the method provided when problems later developed at the third site.

He said those circumstances would be discussed with police in the coming days.

Questions remain over the full extent of police involvement, whether DAERA’s enforcement team used body-worn cameras and whether every shot discharged during the operation can be accounted for.

Butler says court order does not answer ‘how’

Ulster Unionist Party agriculture spokesperson and AERA Committee chair Robbie Butler

Ulster Unionist Party agriculture spokesperson and AERA Committee chair Robbie Butler welcomed the publication of the Minister’s statement but said the existence of a court order did not settle the dispute over DAERA’s actions.

Mr Butler said:

“The statement sets out that the Department was acting to comply with a court deprivation order following convictions for animal welfare and disposal offences, and that the keeper had been disqualified for life. That is important context.

“However, the existence of a court order does not settle the question of how the decision was reached or how it was carried out and it is the ‘how’ that farmers are asking about.”

He said the central issue was whether every alternative to euthanasia had genuinely been exhausted.

“The statement records that the keeper divested himself of some animals during the three-week period, and that on the day of the operation a local farmer approached staff indicating an interest in purchasing animals,” he said.

“If sale or transfer was possible for some of the herd, farmers will want to understand precisely why it was judged impossible for the remaining 51, and at what point that judgement became final.”

Mr Butler welcomed the decision to appoint an external reviewer but warned that the review’s credibility would depend on its scope.

“A lessons learned exercise confined to how the operation was conducted would not answer the question farmers are actually asking, which is how the decision to euthanise was reached in the first place,” he said.

“I would encourage the Minister to reflect that in the terms of reference before they are finalised.”

‘Legitimate scrutiny and abuse are not the same thing’

Mr Butler also condemned the treatment of DAERA officials.

“The threats, online abuse and misogynistic commentary directed at DAERA officials and veterinary staff are indefensible, and anyone amplifying such material should stop,” he said.

“Legitimate scrutiny and abuse are not the same thing, and neither should be used to excuse the other.”

The extraordinary AERA Committee meeting requested by Mr Butler is due to take place at Stormont on Monday 10 August.

He urged people attending the meeting or gathering outside Parliament Buildings to allow the scrutiny process to proceed and to express their concerns peacefully.

“Farmers and rural communities have raised serious and reasonable questions and are entitled to answers,” he said.

“I would ask those attending, or gathering outside, to let that process do its work and to express their concerns with the dignity that will best serve their case.”

UFU says confidence has been ‘badly shaken’

A senior Ulster Farmers’ Union delegation will attend Monday’s committee meeting to support MLAs in questioning DAERA officials.

The union said the operation had sent shockwaves through Northern Ireland’s farming community and generated deep concern among members in every agricultural sector.

It has already met DAERA officials and called for full transparency and accountability, including the prompt completion and publication of the independent review.

UFU president John McLenaghan said:

“As a union we have been shocked, angered and deeply distressed by this incident.

“The strength of feeling across our membership is unlike anything we have witnessed for many years, and it is our responsibility as the Ulster Farmers’ Union to ensure those concerns are heard loud and clear.”

He said the union would attend the committee on behalf of its members and support MLAs in scrutinising the Department.

“This is not about speculation or assumptions, it is about accountability,” Mr McLenaghan said.

“Farmers deserve a full explanation of how these decisions were reached, who authorised them and whether every possible alternative was properly considered.”

He added:

“Public confidence has been badly shaken. It can only begin to be restored through complete honesty, transparency and respect for the farming community.

“We expect DAERA to answer the legitimate questions that have been raised, and we will continue to pursue this matter until our members have the clarity they deserve.”

Detailed chronology and court order sought

The UFU has submitted an extensive series of questions covering the court order, planning of the operation, condition and temperament of the animals, availability of cattle-handling facilities, public safety and the actions of senior DAERA figures.

It wants a detailed chronology from the issuing of the court order until the final animal was euthanised.

The union is also asking whether DAERA had an implementation plan for the operation, who authorised the manner in which it proceeded and whether risk assessments were carried out for the farmer, staff and members of the public.

It has asked when the cattle were last tested for bovine tuberculosis, how the test was conducted and what it revealed about the animals’ condition and temperament.

The UFU also wants to know whether Minister Andrew Muir, DAERA’s Permanent Secretary or the Chief Veterinary Officer had prior knowledge of the planned operation or issued instructions to staff.

A copy of the deprivation order has been requested, along with its exact wording and confirmation of whether it contained a destruction requirement or gave DAERA discretion over how the cattle were removed from the keeper’s possession.

The union is seeking confirmation that some animals were sold following the order and an explanation of why that option was not available for the remaining 51.

Questions have also been raised about the farmer’s presence and co-operation on the day, whether the animals were euthanised in one location, how they reacted, whether any escaped and whether every shot can be accounted for.

The UFU wants to establish whether staff wore body cameras and what arrangements had been made in advance to remove the carcases.

Calls to suspend similar enforcement operations

The union claims confidence in DAERA’s veterinary division has “collapsed” among sections of the farming community.

It wants operations of this kind suspended while the independent review is under way and has called for an expert review panel involving legal specialists and appropriately qualified people from outside the veterinary profession.

The UFU also wants the review to examine DAERA’s wider system for conducting enforcement operations rather than focusing solely on the Fivemiletown case.

It has proposed a memorandum of understanding between the Department and the union to govern future enforcement operations.

The union is seeking assurances that appropriate action will be taken if the review identifies wrongdoing by officials and wants the process completed in time for the Northern Ireland Assembly’s return from its summer recess.

Minister condemns threats against staff

Mr Muir said his Chief Veterinary Officer had already identified the need for a lessons-learned exercise because of the complexity of the case and the problems encountered during the operation.

He subsequently decided that the exercise should be led by someone from outside DAERA.

The Department will shortly publish the review’s terms of reference and place a copy in the Assembly Library.

Its final findings and recommendations will also be published.

Mr Muir said:

“I am determined that the review will be thorough but not prolonged. I want to see it completed promptly by early autumn so that any learning can be identified and implemented quickly.”

The Minister said some political and public commentary had been “highly irresponsible and very misleading”.

He said social media commentary had encouraged abusive and misogynistic reactions, with threats made against some staff and others subjected to significant abuse online, in person and through written correspondence.

Senior officials are now reviewing risk assessments, considering what additional security, policing or legal measures may be required and reassuring staff about the importance of their work.

Mr Muir called on every Assembly member to condemn threats and abuse directed at DAERA employees.

“As public representatives, we all have a duty to ensure that our own public commentary is accurate and measured,” he said.

“We also carry responsibility for ensuring that our comments are not couched in a manner that encourages or legitimises abuse or threats against public servants.”

Attention will now turn to Monday’s extraordinary committee meeting and the scope of the independent review, with farming representatives insisting that restoring trust will require scrutiny not only of how the cattle were euthanised, but of how and when DAERA decided that no other option remained.