A Mayo farmer has been the victim of a cynical and sly act of vandalism that has destroyed thousands of euros worth of baled silage.

Anthony Monaghan, from Erris, on the Belmullet peninsula in north Mayo is a contractor. He had made 200 bales of silage to sell, and had them safely stored on an outfarm in nearby Binghamstown.

Last weekend, he was horrified to discover that the bales hade been badly damaged. “The wrap is cut on practically every bale, with chunks of silage pulled out,” he said.

The damage was done in such a way that it could not be readily seen from the roadside. “All the damage is done from the inside,” Anthony explained.

“Someone went to a lot of trouble to conceal what they were doing. They had to climb down into the bales and made sure not to cause any damage that would have alerted my concern, or that of passers-by”. Anthony has no idea when the damage was done, but reckons it was weeks ago.

The result is that the bales have become contaminated by air contact and many will have to be disposed of.

Anthony expressed his gratitude to his neighbours who helped him to move the bales home on Sunday. Some bales are salvageable, but will had to be immediately re-wrapped.

The Gardai are investigating the incident, and are appealing for any information that may be of assistance in solving this baffling act of destruction.