A call to the Department of Agriculture’s animal welfare hotline tipped off the Department that in the region of 100 dead calves were present on a Co Limerick farm.

Last week, it was revealed that around 100 Jersey and Holstein Friesian calves were found dead on a farm in Garryspillane in the county.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the owner of the farm was ordered to remove a further number of live calves, in the region of 150 head, from the farm by the Department in recent weeks.

When asked for an update on the investigation, a Department spokesperson said that the Department “does not comment on ongoing investigations” and would not reveal the process involved in such investigations when queried.

Last week, the Department wrote letters to dairy farmers on behalf of the Calf Stakeholder Forum warning farmers of the reputational risk to the Irish dairy sector in the event of calves under six months of age being sent to the factory.

It urged dairy farmers to find “alternative, more socially sustainable welfare-friendly management practices” for raising and managing non-replacement dairy calves.