AGRICULTURE MINISTER MICHAEL Creed says that the five cattle were shot dead by army marksmen “in the interests of public safety”.

Speaking in the Dáil today about the incident in Monaghan that was described as “outrageous” by Michael Healy-Rae TD, Minister Creed said the decision to shoot the livestock was made “reluctantly”.

Creed said that the cattle were of a “feral nature” and that efforts to contain them were unsuccessful.

“The department is not in the business of shooting cattle,” he added.

The cattle in question had been brought under the control of an official assignee following debt collection proceedings and Creed said that they had access to a public road.

“Significant efforts had been made to contain the animals, but these proved futile because of their feral nature,” he said.

“I appreciate that the outcome was a sight that no one wanted to behold, but what if the cattle had caused a serious, even fatal, accident on the public road?”

My department would have equally been in the dock.  It was a no-win situation but, in the assignee invoking the protocol and the participation of the garda, my department’s veterinary service and the Defence Forces, there are sufficient checks and balances to ensure that this is not something that is done lightly.

The minister said that protocol invoked that meant the Defence Forces shot the cattle was “a last resort for the department”.

Creed also noted that, while the cattle did not have TB, their herd was

TB restricted on 18 February due to the disclosure of TB lesions in cattle slaughtered from the herd.

Read: Healy-Rae says the people who gave the order to shoot cattle are ‘a disgrace’ >

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