If I were a cattle farmer, I would be horrified to think that animals reared on my farm were being slaughtered inhumanely in dodgy abattoirs abroad.

It’s nothing new to read of recent reports about cattle shipped from Europe being abused by untrained imbeciles once they reach their final destinations.

We’ve heard it before but we look the other way. That is because this is one boat that can’t be rocked at any cost. The cold, hard truth of the matter is that the live trade is a vital man-marking exercise on the meat factories.

The welcoming of a new live shipment by farmers is all to do with economics and nothing else. It is about keeping the pressure on the processors and it’s why replacing the live trade with frozen beef is a no-no.

Yes, I know I am stating the bleeding obvious but once the cattle are ran on to ships, they become a commodity. And it’s a €100m commodity putting a floor under a struggling industry.

As Brexit looms, the pressure will grow to establish even more live markets to Italy, Spain, Turkey, Egypt – it doesn’t matter where as long as the cheque at the far end doesn’t bounce. And don’t mention animal welfare whatever you do. Hear no evil, see no evil. That is the attitude here.

Because whenever a video emerges of cattle being abused, the first reaction in certain quarters is to go on the defensive and dismiss the videographers as cranks, nuisances, sandal-wearing, ne’er-do-well, seed-eating, head-bangers and troublemakers. It is never a reaction of genuine concern or upset –more one of discrediting the story as fake news.

I am pro farmer. I know Irish farmers take great pride in their work and do their utmost to look after their animals as best they can.

They don’t want to see calves they hand-reared strung up by the leg to have their throats cut.

That’s what these undercover videos, which need to be verified, show. Yes, it needs to be made clear, too, that the vast majority of the tens of thousands of Irish cattle that are shipped abroad travel stress-free in comfortable conditions.

And no, farmers should not be vilified because they rear their cattle for live shipping in an effort to generate an honest living.

Indeed, all the stakeholders here operate the live trade in good faith and under strict regulation. But that shouldn’t mean that we try and downplay animal cruelty just to keep Irish beef processors in check.

Heart sucked out of our Irish towns

I drove through a town in Leinster recently and stopped off for a coffee. I have decided not to name it because I can only describe it as a dilapidated kip and it would be embarrassing to the people living there. It’s a town I used to know as being vibrant and busy but the heart has been sucked out of it and the carcass that remains is nothing short of disgraceful.

Big shopping malls and supermarkets on the edges of towns are fine and dandy but they have come at the price of destroying the once-thriving towns dotted all over the country. We are to blame for this change in shopping trends and the boarded-up buildings, dirty facades and smashed windows that have been left behind. Was this not envisaged when planning for retail parks was granted? And what are county councils doing about it?