The sudden deaths of cattle on a Co Mayo farm in the past dew days was caused by yew tree poisoning, a Department of Agriculture spokesperson said in response to an Irish Farmers Journal query about the unexplained loss of several animals from a herd in the Claremorris area.

Castlebar and Sligo Regional Veterinary Laboratories (RVLs) investigated the case.

"Post mortems carried out by the Sligo RVL revealed that yew poisoning was the cause of the problem. The cattle had got access to yew tree clippings," the spokesperson said.

The Department warned that the needles and seeds of all yew trees are highly poisonous to horses, cattle, sheep and goats.

A similar incident took place on a farm in Co Limerick in 2016, when yew clippings from a neighbour's garden killed five cattle.

As little as 500g of twigs will kill a 550kg bovine.

Additional reporting by Hannah Quinn Mulligan

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Cattle poisoning: an often dramatic and sometimes overlooked event