A leading businessman who illegally moved cattle from the Republic into the North during the foot-and-mouth crisis was convicted and fined at a special sitting of Dundalk District Court yesterday.
Mr Patrick McParland (57), Kesh Road, Camlough, Newry, Co Down, pleaded guilty to three summonses relating to the illegal export of cattle without the required animal health certificates.
He is a farmer, builder and hotelier and owns the Carrickdale Hotel on the main Dublin-Belfast road and the Canal Court Hotel in Newry.
The seven cattle were moved from lands he owned at Faughart in north Louth to the farm at Camlough between October 27th, 2000, and March 24th, 2001.
Foot-and-mouth was confirmed in the Republic on March 22nd, 2001. An exclusion zone was immediately put in place.
It was confirmed on a farm in the North in February 2001.
Mr Louis Riordan, a vet who works with the Department of Agriculture and Food, told the court there was concern about the cattle as, "they were moved from an area with foot-and-mouth in the South to an area which was very close to foot-and-mouth in the North."
The lands in question were the property of the defendant and his brother John while Mr Patrick McParland's son, Donal, ran the family farm.
However, the court heard that the defendant was taking full responsibility and that the animals were moved on a night of very bad rain to the home farm because of the weather. Mr Roddy O'Hanlon SC, defending, said there was no effort to move the animals for gain.
Judge Terence Finn said he accepted Mr McParland was not directly involved in the movement of the animals and that he realised the buck stopped with him. He fined him €800 on each of the three summonses, plus costs of €2,500 and VAT.