Minister meets farmer on sick stock

A meeting took place at the Department of Agriculture and Food yesterday to discuss the case of the Co Kilkenny farmer at the centre of ongoing investigations into "unexplained" animal health problems on his farm.

Dan Brennan, who farms 170 acres at Drumgoole, Castlecomer, and his veterinary surgeons, Tom Slevin and Michael Lambe, met with Minister Mary Coughlan, and described the meeting as "constructive".

Mr Lambe said "the Minister agreed that further investigations are warranted".

However, the department would not confirm the meeting had taken place, who was present, what was agreed or if a confidential 70-page report prepared by the department, and seen by The Irish Times, would be published. This report claims that diseases rather than environmental pollution are responsible.

A spokesman for the Irish Farmers' Association confirmed that its president, Pádraig Walshe, "did attend" but declined to make any comment on the outcome of the meeting.

In early 2003, inspectors from the department's regional Veterinary Laboratory Service visited the farm at the request of local vets who believe that "a toxic agent" is responsible for problems on the farm. As the farm is located close to what officials describe as "an industrial source of atmospheric emissions - a brick factory", the assistance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was requested.

Investigations centred on the possible contamination of the herd by "fluoride toxicity". They did not find "any evidence to suggest that animals on this farm have been exposed to concentrations of fluorides via air, water, or feed likely to lead to toxicity".

Instead, the report found that "the incidence and severity of a number of common disease conditions identified would undoubtedly have impacted negatively on animal performance".

Yet despite these findings, the Veterinary Laboratory Service report acknowledges "investigations are continuing into the animal health problems on this farm" and "a multidisciplinary group of scientists is also pursuing wider ecological and epidemiological investigations of the affected farm and surrounding area".

An EPA spokeswoman confirmed it had been involved in the investigations but said "any queries in relation to the investigation should be forwarded to the Department of Agriculture, who led the investigation team".