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Co Down cattle haulier, Kenneth Boyd, Magherabeg Road, Dromore, was convicted at Newry Magistrates’ Court on Monday on one charge of transporting an animal that was not fit to travel.
Mr Boyd pleaded guilty and was fined £250 plus £15 offender levy.
The case involved a Holstein bullock, sent for slaughter in June 2022 along with seven other animals. In the professional opinion of the DAERA veterinary officer on site at the abattoir, the animal was unfit to be transported. Several of its joints were swollen.
Subsequent analysis post-slaughter showed the bullock had an underlying heart condition, which is thought to have been a factor in it having arthritis and pain in joints.
The defence in the case pointed out that the trailer used to transport the animals was not overloaded and contended that the animal was left to stand in the lairage for 1hr 30mins, so it was not viewed as a high priority for immediate slaughter.
It was also argued Mr Boyd had relied on the opinion of the farmer that the animal was fit to travel, which was backed up with written evidence provided by the farmer’s private vet. He had inspected the animal at a TB test in April, and was of the view it could be transported.
However, DAERA’s legal team contended that the vet report was of limited value given the time that had passed between the TB test and the slaughter date in June.
In his concluding remarks, District Judge King noted that Mr Boyd had a previous caution related to animal transport, so that should have alerted him “to what he had to do.” However, he said he was prepared to accept that the offence before him “was at the lower end of the scale.”
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