Two cattle from a midland herd which tested positive for "angel dust" were sold and slaughtered at Ballyhaunis meat factory in 1996, Tullamore District Court heard yesterday. The animals were moved in breach of a restriction order. Henry Moyles (49), Killananny, Blueball, Tullamore, was sentenced to two three-month terms after he pleaded guilty to two charges.
The court heard that Moyles, a substantial beef farmer, sold the animals with 28 others after they had been double-tagged by Department investigators but before they could be freeze-branded.
The animals were from a group of 31 which tested positive for the drug clenbuterol, commonly known as angel dust, during an investigation at his 150-acre farm in April 1996.
A Department investigator, Mr Dennis Deaney, said a restriction order had been placed on the movement of animals from the farm during the investigation.
Animals which had been sampled were double-tagged pending the outcome of the tests. Thirtyone animals sampled were found to be positive, but when the team went to freeze-brand them 10 were missing.
Two of the animals, he said, had been found at Ballyhaunis meat factory, where they had been slaughtered, and their bodies were destroyed.
Mr Eanna Molloy, counsel for the Department of Agriculture and Food, said Moyles had applied for a movement permit for 30 animals to the local district veterinary office at 4.30 p.m. on May 28th.
He had applied under the bovine TB regulations, even though there was a restriction on all movement from the farm under the Animal Remedies Acts.
Mr Patrick Groarke, solicitor for Moyles, said the animals did not get into the food chain and were destroyed at the meat plant. The defendant was not paid for them.
He said that at Tullamore District Court last December Moyles had pleaded guilty to two charges relating to the investigation and had been fined £500. He wanted to know why these additional charges had not been brought then.
Moyles, married with six children, said he had been forced to sell the animals because of a scarcity of feed on the farm, and he had applied for a permit to sell them through the local district veterinary officer. The cattle had been taken by a haulier to Ballyhaunis, where they were sold with 28 other animals. The two animals concerned were taken from the plant, put in skip and their bodies sprayed with a dye. Moyles did not know the results of the tests when he sold the cattle.
Judge Michael Connellan said Moyles had played "ducks and drakes" with the regulations. It did not matter that Moyles did not know the outcome of the tests because he was still prohibited from moving the animals.
He said that had the Department of Agriculture not investigated, the animals would have gone into the food chain. Moyles had total disregard for the regulations and had put lives at risk.
He imposed a three-month sentence in Mountjoy on each of the two summonses, fined him £750 on each summons, and ordered him to pay £1,000 witness expenses. He allowed leave to appeal and fixed bail at £3,000.