The Irish Farmers Journal has been contacted by the owners of the animals after five of their heifers were shot by members of the army on a farm in Co Monaghan.

The owners of the stock told the Irish Farmers Journal that the army was called to shoot the animals after the debt collection service had struggled to load the five animals on to a truck. The owners also allege that all other machinery from the farm had been removed. It is understood that the local Department of Agriculture vet had been made aware of the military exercise.

Watch video footage of the incident obtained by the Irish Farmers Journal from the owners of the animals:

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that a long-standing protocol between the Department, An Garda Síochána and the army allows for intervention when there is a threat to public safety.

A fallen animal service was called to collect the dead animals but subsequently got stuck in the field they were in.

It is clearly not in my interests to kill cattle, nor would I do it, without firstly having exhausted every other possible avenue

The Official Assignee in Bankruptcy, Chris Lehane, said in a statement that he had made the decision to have the cattle killed after failing to remove all the “wild and dangerous” animals from the farm with “experienced cattle assistants”. “As Official Assignee I have a duty to recover value from assets of bankruptcy estates and it is clearly not in my interests to kill cattle, nor would I do it, without firstly having exhausted every other possible avenue open to me to resolve the problem,” he said.

The Official Assignee in Bankruptcy is part of the Insolvency Service of Ireland, the independent statutory body tasked with monitoring situations in which people are unable to pay their debts.

Lehane alleged that cattle were left wandering on local roads and 15 went missing in the process. “Removal of the remaining five cattle was not possible due to security issues over persons involved in previous removals, of which An Garda Síochána are aware,” he said.

"Positive" TB tests

Lehane also alleged that he had “carried out extensive TB testing in conjuction with the Department of Agriculture. The results of those tests proved positive in the herd, greatly restricting what I could do with the animals.”

He said that he “very reluctantly made” the decision to “cull” the five heifers with the “approval of the Department of Agriculture” and “cooperation of An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces,” “in a controlled environment”.

The Departmet of Agriculture said in a statement that the Defence Forces carried out the “humane destruction of five animals on a farm in Co Monaghan due to a significant concern for public safety”, at the request of the Official Assignee.

The Department added that the carcasses were removed and excluded from the food chain.

When contacted, the press office of An Garda Síochána said this was a matter of the Department of Agriculture. The army press office has been contacted for comment.