Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir defended his department when he addressed MLAs at Stormont after the publication of the Fivemiletown cattle cull review.
“The review confirms that the culling method used was entirely lawful and, from an animal welfare perspective, both appropriate and, sadly, necessary,” he said.
The 89-page report by former Irish chief vet Dr Martin Blake examines the handling of a cull of 51 cattle on a farm in Co Tyrone on 29 and 30 June 2026.
Minister Muir highlighted several times that the cull was carried out due to a court order, after the herd keeper was found guilty of multiple animal welfare offences.
“The situation on the farm that led to the prosecutions was frankly grotesque,” he said.
However, the Alliance politician acknowledged that the Blake review found numerous failings by DAERA and he committed to implementing all report recommendations.
“It is very clear in the report that there were operational shortcomings and that the impact on the public and community was not considered in the planning and operation. I accept that without hesitation,” Minister Muir said.
In terms of what he knew about the cull, Minister Muir said he received a briefing paper on the morning of the incident, but did not get time to read it until the evening.
“There are clear issues, as identified in the report, on the need to ensure that the minister and senior management are properly briefed when things do not go to plan,” he said.
Exchanges
There were several fiery exchanges with MLAs during the question session after the minister’s statement.
The DUP’s Deborah Erskine described the review process as “a whitewash” and asked the minister “who will face accountability”.
A reoccurring question from MLAs surrounded how many bullets were fired as part of the operation, as the exact number appears to be unknown.
The Blake review states most animals were “killed instantaneously by a single shot” and a follow up shot was needed “in a small number of cases”. However, the report states “records were not kept of these secondary actions”.
In its response to the Blake review, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) said it is important that lessons from the report “genuinely change” how future cases are handled by DAERA.
“The farming community will judge DAERA not by the recommendations it accepts on paper or the promises it makes, but by the visible change it delivers,” said UFU president John McLenaghan.
See page 6.
