Civil servants have received threats and abuse following controversy over the shooting of 51 cattle in Co Tyrone, Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir has said.
Providing an update to MLAs, Mr Muir said that “no animal was chased around fields” by staff and no cattle were shot multiple times.
He did, however, state that some animals had made it onto a public road and had been chased “for a significant period of time” after a local farmer had expressed interest in buying some of the cows.
Mr Muir ordered an external review of the cull on Monday.
The incident was carried out by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DAERA) Humane Slaughter Team on land near Fivemiletown at the end of June.
The cattle were culled because the farmer that owned them was convicted of numerous animal welfare offences and a court banned him from keeping or owning animals for life.
However, it caused a lot of anger and concerns have been raised about the public nature of the incident.
The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) and political representatives have said they had concerns about the way it was carried out.
On Thursday Mr Muir gave an update through an Urgent Written Statement to the Assembly.
He said it arose following a court order requiring the department to act after a man was convicted of a number of offences and disqualified for life from keeping animals.
The minister said the department gave the herd keeper three weeks to sell off or dispose of his animals, but he “only divested himself of a small number of animals”.
He said this left 51 cows on the land which had to be removed from the disqualified keeper.
Mr Muir said: “The department was unfortunately left with no reasonable alternative to comply with the court order, other than to euthanise the animals.
“While it is generally preferable for the animals to be removed from the premises and euthanised remotely, in certain circumstances, such as this case, it was the assessment of professional veterinary staff that this option was simply not possible.”
He said officials had decided the animals could not be moved to a different location.
He said that 50 cattle were “euthanised” on June 29 and another one the following day.
The minister said: “The staff in this team are highly trained, in line with best practice and legislative requirements, and highly respected across these islands for their expertise following procedures that provide for a humane death.”
Mr Muir said he had been “alarmed by some of the highly inaccurate and irresponsible commentary surrounding the team’s actions”.
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.”
Mr Muir said the the animals were “collected and disposed of the next morning” with efforts made to keep this operation out of public view.
The minister added: “Two of the sites were very remote with limited public access and the cattle were euthanised on these sites by approximately 1.30pm on June 29 with no issues arising.
“On the third site, I understand that issues did arise when a local farmer approached staff at the scene to indicate a potential interest in purchasing some of the animals.”
Mr Muir said operations were “halted immediately to provide space for any transaction to take place”.
He told MLAs: “The local farmer seeking to purchase some of the animals, another individual and the herd keeper were facilitated to remove the animals from a field into a lorry.
“They chased the animals for a significant period of time and released them onto a public road which created further health and safety risks.
“While those actions delayed the completion of operations, ultimately Daera staff had to intervene as the individuals were unable to detain the animals which by that stage were stressed.”
Mr Muir said by this point there was a “small number of protesters at the site” but operations did not recommence until they had left the scene.
He added: “With the assistance of some neighbouring farmers, staff were able to move the remaining cattle from the road and they were subsequently euthanised.”
The minister said there had been “highly irresponsible and very misleading” political and public commentary about the cull.
He said: “Other commentary, particularly on social media, has had the effect of encouraging and provoking quite disgraceful and unacceptable reactions, including some that are abusive and clearly misogynistic.
“That commentary has led to threats being made against some Daera staff and multiple other staff being subjected to significant abuse online, in person and through written correspondence.
“That is not acceptable in any scenario, and certainly not when it comes to our civil and public servants carrying out their lawful duties.
“My senior officials now have to review risk assessments, reassure staff as to the value and importance of their work, and assess what specific security, policing or legal responses are required in the case of some comments.”
Responding to the ministerial statement, Agriculture Committee chairman and Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler said a “central question is whether every alternative to euthanasia was genuinely exhausted”.
He said: “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.
“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 judgment became final.”
Mr Butler added: “Let me be clear about the treatment of departmental staff.
“The threats, online abuse and misogynistic commentary directed at Daera officials and veterinary staff are indefensible, and anyone amplifying such material should stop.
“Legitimate scrutiny and abuse are not the same thing, and neither should be used to excuse the other.
DUP MLA Deborah Erskine said Mr Muir’s statement leaves “important questions unanswered”.
She said: “This information should not have come through a drip feed of statements and media reports over the past number of weeks. Given the level of public concern, the minister should have been far more forthcoming from the outset.”
Ms Erskine added: “The statement fails again today to apologise to constituents that witnessed this incident occur and are genuinely concerned by what happened in a quiet rural area.
“That should be at the very least something that could and should be offered at this stage.”
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