Following on from discrepancies found by DAERA at a cattle identification inspection (CII) back in October 2019, Mr Alan McFarland, Ballagh Road, Clogher was fined £2,600 at Dungannon Magistrates Court last Friday 14 April.

Included among the convictions was a failure to notify the movement of cattle off his holding, failure to attach an approved ear tag to an animal, failure to notify birth of an animal and failure to present both veterinary medicine records and a herd register. He also received a 12-month conditional discharge for obstructing a DAERA inspector.

His son, Robert McFarland from Kell Road, Clogher was convicted of one charge of using an ear tag to identify an animal, which had already been used to identify another animal, and was fined £500.

During the case, both men had strenuously denied all the charges. In his closing remarks, Deputy District Judge Sean O’Hare was critical of a social media post from the PSNI, which suggested officers attending the CII were taking part in an operation linked to stolen cattle. The judge also granted permission to appeal to both Alan and Robert McFarland.

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