AS another farmer was given a prison sentence yesterday for possessing angel dust, it has emerged that a further 99 cases involving illegal animal drugs are awaiting, hearing.
Michael Frisby (52), Clogga, Mooncoin, Co Kilkenny, was sentenced to 10 months and fined £1,000 for having clenbuterol or angel dust in animal feed on his farm on August 13th, 1992.
Passing sentence at Carrick on Suir District Court, Judge Michael Patwell told Frisby he was worse than a terrorist.
It has been learned that 28 of the remaining 99 cases involve clenbuterol, 19 involve clenbuterol and hormone cocktails, 20 involve hormones, three cases involve hormones and antibiotics, four involve clenbuterol and antibiotics, and 17 involve antibiotics alone.
The cases have been delayed because of a Supreme Court challenge to the Animal Remedies Act, which imposed stiffer penalties and gave greater powers to the Department of Agriculture to deal with abuses of growth promoters.
The Supreme Court challenge was brought by Frank Mallon, of Balrath, Kells, Co Meath, and was disposed of last May. Since then, 36 cases have been dealt with in the courts with fines of over £150,000 imposed. Mallon was fined £25,000 on 25 charges on October 9th this year.
On Tuesday Ronald Armitage Uskane, Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, had a District court sentence of six months doubled when he appealed his conviction for possessing illegal animal drugs to Athlone Circuit Court. He was the first farmer to be sentenced to prison.
Judge Anthony Kennedy allowed Armitage four weeks to put his affairs in order before the warrant to imprison him is executed. The court heard Armitage, who farms up to 600 acres, is said to be one of the Republic's biggest beef fattening farmers.
Last night the Department of Agriculture gave a breakdown of the years in which the alleged offences due before the courts occurred and these show that most allegedly took place before 1994.
The statement said seven cases, related to 1991; 29 to 1992; 20 to 1993; 15 to 1994; 20 to 1995 and eight this year. Department witnesses have given evidence in court's that abuse of animal drugs has dropped dramatically.
A member of the special controls team set up to combat the clenbuterol threat told a District Court sitting that abuse had fallen since the publication of the outcome of court cases.
Further evidence of a decline emerged when the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, reassigned some of the team dealing with the problem to monitor animal feed and help trace BSE animals.