A 34-year-old farmer has been fined €7,500 for forging a signature on cattle identification papers after a court heard that altering cattle documentation could seriously jeopardise the beef export business.
James Moloney, farming at Kilbarry, Fermoy, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of breaching Section 19b of the European Communities (Identification and Registration of Bovine Animal) Regulations 1999 when he appeared in court yesterday.
Det Sgt Seán Leahy told Cork District Court that Mr Moloney had forged the signature of a veterinary inspector on papers relating to 10 animals to allow him sell them to Kepak Meats at Condonstown, Watergrasshill, Co Cork.
Det Sgt Leahy said Mr Moloney had brought two animals to the plant for slaughter on January 15th, 2007, but when Department of Agriculture inspectors examined the identity passports they found the vet's signature saying they were disease free had been forged.
The officials launched an investigation into previous cattle dealings with Mr Moloney and found he had also forged a vet's signature on identity passports for another eight cattle on September 8th, 2006, when he brought them to Kepak for slaughter. Gardaí interviewed Mr Moloney who admitted he had forged the vet's signature on all 10 cattle after buying them from a farmer in Co Waterford.
Det Sgt Leahy said the previous owner of the cattle had got into some difficulty and one of the cattle had not been tested and certified by the vet, while the vet had for some reason not signed the certificates for the other nine cattle which had been tested and cleared.
The Department of Agriculture's veterinary inspector Mary Cullinane said signed identification certificates was the only passport documentation available when cattle are exported and forging a signature could seriously damage the export industry as someone could buy a diseased animal.
Mr Moloney's solicitor, Maurice Hallissey, said his client had no previous convictions and that his farm was heavily mortgaged.