Farmers aren’t easily shocked, but there is no other way to describe the reaction to video and still footage circulating in recent days.

The understanding is that the videos and photos capture personnel from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine euthanising cows in two different yards.

The particulars of why these animals were being culled have not been confirmed. And it doesn’t matter. Because the issue here is the manner in which the approved action was carried out.

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The IFA has called for a meeting with the Department to discuss “the protocols to deal with alleged welfare and animal traceability issues on farms”. And no wonder.

The special investigations unit (SIU) of the Department of Agriculture was deeply unpopular with farmers. It’s replacement with a broader investigations unit was welcomed as perhaps heralding a step-change in attitude.

It must be said, though, that all the negativity toward the SIU was in relation to how it treated farmers; I never heard a word of complaint relating to treatment of livestock.

All of us who work with livestock have a duty to remember at all times to treat animals with respect. The harsh truth is that mankind raises and tends animals for the purpose of eventually slaughtering them for meat.

Some people are philosophically opposed to this, hence the vegan movement. There can be no place for sensitivity but there can be no place for insensitivity among professionals working with farmed animals.

Familiarity can never be allowed to breed contempt.

In the UK, over six million sheep and cattle were culled during the Foot And Mouth outbreak of 2001. While the outbreak in Ireland was largely curtailed, about 57,000 animals were culled here. Most of these animals were euthanised on-farm, due to movement restrictions.

The big difference between now and then is the advent of smartphones means that everybody has a digital camera and a video recorder in their pocket. And drone technology means panoramic footage can be captured from above; everybody knows someone who owns a drone and can record the local tractor run or agricultural show from the sky.

It means we are all liable to be recorded at any moment. RTÉ’s Prime Time Investigates used such technology to capture some unseemly treatment of animals in marts and lairages.

It looks like at least some people in the Department of Agriculture failed to heed the warning that everything we do in 2026 is liable to be recorded and shared.

It’s too early to assess the reputational damage this will cause, but it isn’t good. If the very people tasked with ensuring that farmed animals are treated with dignity and respect fall short of expected standards, that undermines confidence in the entire system.

As a country that exports 90% of our beef, lamb and dairy, we have to always be aware that the world is watching.