Efforts will continue today to bring fodder to nearly 100 cattle on a Co Meath farm where 54 others were found dead by gardai on Monday. The dead animals were discovered following complaints to gardai in Dunboyne, Co Meath, when a cow was found dead on the road.
Department of Agriculture officials and the Garda are trying to establish if there was "any reason other than neglect for the deaths of the animals, and if there is not, the Garda may prosecute," a Department spokesman said. If neglect is established the remaining cattle would be seized and removed from the farm.
"We are also working with Teagasc, the farm development services, to see what can be done to help out, and I understand that local farmers have been involved in bringing cattle feed to the farm," said the spokesman.
Farming sources in Meath said the Irish Farmers' Association had been involved in trying to find surplus fodder for the animals last week. They indicated that the problem was not simply a lack of fodder, but also a family dispute on the farm.
The chief executive of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Mr Ciaran O'Donovan, said it had contacted gardai in Dunboyne.
"The matter had been reported to us by a member of the public, and we have been involved in this case," he said. "We are receiving reports from all over the country telling us of farm animals in extreme distress.
"The Department of Finance must immediately make funds available to alleviate this horrific situation," he said.