Muir resignation demand is 'not personal' says UFU

Image caption, Ulster Farmers' Union president John McLenaghan rejected a claim that the UFU was trying to dictate government policy

The president of Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has said his organisation's demand for the resignation of Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir is "not personal".

The UFU called on the Alliance politician to quit on Friday over his department's handling of a controversial cull of 51 cattle in Fivemiletown in County Tyrone.

Alliance has claimed the UFU's call was not motivated by animal welfare concerns, but by its opposition to Muir because he stands up to its "vested interest" in agriculture.

UFU President John McLenaghan insisted the dispute was "not about personalities" adding that Muir's decision to appoint a single person to conduct a review into the cattle cull was the "straw that broke the camel's back".

The UFU wanted an independent panel of experts to examine the circumstances of the cull which took place on a Fivemiletown farm on 29 and 30 June.

The cattle's owner had been disqualified from keeping animals for life after being found guilty of a number of animal welfare offences in May.

When a court order to rid him of ownership of the cattle was not compiled with, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) stepped in.

The animals were shot and killed by Daera's humane slaughter team, but some of the shootings took place within earshot of members of the public, causing distress.

The UFU expressed shock over the cull asking "whether every possible alternative was properly considered" , external before the cattle were killed.

Muir has previously insisted that Daera had "no choice" but to cull the animals.

On Friday, the minister hit back at those calling for him to quit, saying "the days of the Ulster Farmers' Union dictating government policy are over".

He added that he was "arguably the first minister in the history of this state that is not beholden to one vested interest".

Muir also said , external the operation was not "authorised nor directed by me" but he as "the responsible minister... ordered an external independent review because the public deserves clear answers".

Image caption, Andrew Muir previously insisted that Daera had "no choice" but to cull the cattle

The UFU president rejected the claimed that the union was trying to dictate Daera policies.

"This organisation has 120 years of history", McLenaghan told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"It has worked with every government there has been, every competent authority there has been - whether it's Westminster or Stormont.

"Any political party that has held the ministry, we've worked with them to help them, to help our farmers, to help our industry.

"To describe that as dictating is not only unfair on the Ulster Farmers' Union, it's also actually somewhat disingenuous."

McLenaghan pointed out that the UFU is often invited to work with Daera on "co-design" projects because of staffing and resources issues within the department.

The UFU president insisted that the call for Muir to quit was made after details of the review into the Fivemiletown cull were confirmed.

The process is to be led by Dr Martin Blake, a former Chief Veterinary Officer for Ireland, and he is expected to report by early autumn.

"We were always clear that in order for this review to be thorough, to get the answers that we need, it needed to be more than just purely an analysis of 'did the vets follow procedure?'," McLenaghan said.

"It needed to look into the legalities of the process and also take consideration of both animal and farmer welfare... that we didn't get."

Warning: This article contains an image of dead animals that some may find distressing

Speaking on the same programme, Alliance deputy leader Eóin Tennyson claimed the cull was being used as an excuse to target Muir's job.

"The fact that the UFU have called for a resignation before that review has even concluded, I think speaks very plainly to the motivations behind this," he said.

"They are not concerned about the case at Fivemiletown or animal welfare issues, as they profess.

"They are concerned about the fact that for the first time in the history of the Northern Ireland Executive we have a minister who is not beholden to vested interest."

Tennyson argued the review needed to be carried out quickly and if Muir was to appoint a larger panel of experts that would delay the outcome of the process.

But McLenaghan said if there were three people on the panel, like the UFU had requested, they could "share the workload" and it could be completed faster.

Image source, Other Image caption, The cattle were shot dead in a field in County Tyrone in June

Animal welfare inspections on the farm dating back to 2022 identified serious concerns, including the presence of emaciated animals, feed contaminated with urine and faeces and 33 animal carcasses

The farmer was found guilty of a number of animal welfare offences in May including:

Thirteen charges of failure to dispose of an animal carcass

One charge of failure to comply with an Animal By-Products notice

Six charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal

One charge of failure to produce medicine records

The court issued a deprivation order on 8 June, meaning that the farmer had to have the animals removed from his ownership.

As is practice, he was given two weeks to appeal the sentence, or to transfer, sell or give away his stock.

On 29 June, when the extended grace period had lapsed, the departmental humane slaughter team arrived at the farm to begin destruction of the remaining 51 animals by shooting them.

Some members of the public witnessed the operation in one of the three areas across the farm that the animals were in.

Questions about how the operation was conducted were first raised by a local councillor, then concerns were expressed by politicians and farming leaders.

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