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A farmer has been fined €8,000 for polluting the Douglas River at Garryduff, Dungourney, Co Cork, in April 2018.
Dairy farmer Brian Duncan with a herd in excess of 1,000 cows, was fined at Midleton District Court on Thursday 12 November 2020 following a prosecution taken by Inland Fisheries Ireland.
Duncan pleaded guilty before Judge Patricia Harney where the court heard that an initial discharge of slurry from his farmyard was followed by further reoccurrences.
Inland Fisheries Ireland gave evidence that the river had been severely polluted by the slurry discharges which had rendered the riverine habitat inaccessible to spawning trout and salmon.
Devastating effects
Director of the southwestern river basin district at Inland Fisheries Ireland Sean Long said: “Livestock manure and other organic fertilisers, effluents and soiled water have the potential to cause devastating effects.
“Good farmyard management helps stop accidental discharges of polluting substances which will have a significant and lasting positive impact on valuable wild fish populations and general wellbeing in an area.”
Farmers have been urged to remain vigilant to the risk of pollution from yards and slurry tanks
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