Seven dead sheep and a bin bag of veterinary products were discovered illegally dumped in a Coillte-owned forest on the Donegal-Northern Ireland border.

“The farmer is likely local to the area. It’s a real cowboy act and I’m hearing similar reports in recent months,” Donegal councillor Patrick McGowan told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“The county council litter warden came up to the forest to see if there was any evidence among the veterinary products for who might have owned the sheep.”

The sheep were discovered in the Meenagoland, Killygordon, area in mid-December and were not tagged.

The Department of Agriculture has said it is assisting Donegal County Council with the incident.

Self-policing

McGowan claims that farmers in the area are self-policing and have been quick to report similar incidents in the past.

“In most cases, it’s usually a farmer that rings to report animals that have been dumped along the border. The vast majority of lads are doing the right thing, but there’s always the odd one to go against the grain.

“The authorities only have to get lucky once and catch one of these lads that’s doing this.

“The backlash will make the rest of them think twice before they go out and dump animals.”