A judge has threatened to ban a farmer from keeping livestock again after he was told that more than 100 animal carcasses were found on the farmer's land and that the rest of his cattle, including pregnant cows and young animals, were in poor condition.
Judge John Brophy, at Dunshaughlin Court, adjourned to November 21st a case against John Walsh, Cornelstown House, Dunboyne, for causing unnecessary suffering, leading to the death of 102 cattle, on January 11th 1999. Walsh pleaded guilty.
The judge warned that unless Walsh kept his cattle in good condition, allowed his cousin to supervise his husbandry of them and followed a Teagasc plan for his farm, he would send him to jail, fine him the maximum amount and ban him from keeping cattle again.
The Department of Agriculture's veterinary inspector for Co Meath, Mr Christopher O'Brien Lynch, said that when he visited the farm on January 11th, 1999, he found the living cattle in poor condition, with little or no food. He also found a large number of carcasses in various states of decay. He reckoned that up to 120 animals were involved, including the bags of bare bones which were collected from the fields.
Emergency fodder supplies were provided, but a number of the surviving animals had to be put down on humane grounds. When he visited the farm this week, the animals were being adequately looked after.
The inspector said he would be reluctant to deprive Walsh of his livelihood, but he believed he needed constant monitoring and assistance from his cousin and from Teagasc advisers. He thanked gardai for their efforts to help the surviving animals.
Ms Margo Dean, of the Meath ISPCA, also praised gardai and appealed to the public for continued assistance in helping suffering animals. She added: "We were aware of this problem for about two weeks, but because the informant was not willing to leave a name or telephone number, we could not find the farm."