The publication of the independent report into the destruction of 51 cattle at Fivemiletown has done little to restore confidence in DAERA. While the report concludes that the operation was lawful and that the method of dispatch was appropriate, its findings expose serious failures in planning, communication, operational management and departmental oversight. For Countryside Alliance Ireland, this is about much more than a report or a list of recommendations. It is about how rural communities have been treated, the damage done to public confidence and, ultimately, who takes responsibility when a government department gets things so badly wrong.
The report by former Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Martin Blake makes uncomfortable reading. It identifies an absence of clear written procedures, insufficient consideration of alternative approaches, weaknesses in operational control and failures in record-keeping and communication. Among the most troubling findings is that three cattle were shot after a decision had been made to pause the operation, with the reviewer unable to establish why. Questions also remain about animal accounting, site clearance and the subsequent discovery of an injured calf. These are not minor administrative oversights. They raise fundamental questions about the department's planning, management and ability to oversee an operation of this nature.
However, it is not just the findings themselves that concern us. Serious questions are now being raised about whether the independent review heard from everyone who could have provided important evidence. Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader and Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Diana Armstrong has highlighted a number of contradictions in the report, including the justification for shooting cattle in the fields on the basis that they were too wild to gather, despite reports that 15 animals were standing in a shed on the morning of the operation.
Perhaps more concerning are Armstrong's revelations following a visit to a neighbouring farm, where she says three animals from the herd, including the injured calf, are alive today. According to Armstrong, these neighbouring farmers had taken in the animals in July but were never contacted by the reviewer. She also described how two neighbours had attempted to move a cow and calves onto their own land because they wanted to purchase and save them, but their offer was refused.
If people who witnessed the operation, attempted to save animals and subsequently took in surviving cattle were never approached, how can the farming community have complete confidence that the review considered all the available evidence? We recognise that Dr Blake has undertaken a substantial piece of work and that his report identifies significant failings within DAERA. However, an independent investigation must also be comprehensive. These questions deserve proper answers, and we believe the Minister must explain whether these farmers were contacted and why their evidence was apparently not obtained.
Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir has confirmed that he accepts all ten recommendations and intends to introduce an action plan. While improvements to departmental procedures are welcome, accepting recommendations is not the same as accepting responsibility. The Minister has previously stated that he did not personally authorise or direct the operation, but he is responsible for DAERA. He cannot distance himself from the department's failures simply because he was not involved in the operational decisions. Ministerial responsibility must mean something, particularly when the findings of an independent report expose such significant shortcomings.
Gary McCartney, Regional Director of Countryside Alliance Ireland, said:
"For anyone reading this report, it is difficult to understand how anyone could consider this matter closed. We have serious failures in planning, communication and operational oversight, unanswered questions about what happened during the operation and a local community that has been left deeply distressed.
"I am particularly concerned by reports that neighbouring farmers who witnessed what happened, attempted to save animals and subsequently took in surviving cattle were never approached by the review. If that is correct, serious questions have to be asked about whether the investigation heard from everyone who could have provided important evidence. The farming community deserves to know that the full facts have been established.
"The Minister cannot simply accept ten recommendations and expect everyone to move on. He may not have personally directed the operation, but he is responsible for the department. He must explain how these failures were allowed to happen and what action will be taken.
"Across rural Northern Ireland, confidence in Stormont is already under considerable pressure. Farmers are dealing with enormous challenges and increasingly feel that the people making decisions have little understanding of the realities of rural life. Fivemiletown has only deepened that frustration. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for competence, transparency and accountability. Rural communities deserve nothing less."
The concerns surrounding Fivemiletown cannot be viewed in isolation from the wider direction of rural policy at Stormont. The Hunting with Dogs Bill is another example of legislation that has caused considerable concern among countryside organisations, farmers, landowners and those involved in working with dogs. While the Bill's stated intention is to prohibit hunting wild mammals with dogs, we have raised concerns about its potential implications for legitimate countryside activities, wildlife management, pest control and livestock protection. Questions remain about the practical implications of the proposed exemptions and whether the experiences and knowledge of those who work and live in the countryside have been properly considered.
As we highlighted in our previous article, Culling of confidence: why the Northern Irish countryside has had enough with Stormont, frustration extends far beyond one incident or one piece of legislation. From the continuing bovine TB crisis and agricultural regulation to environmental policy and countryside management, rural people increasingly feel that their voices are being overlooked. Farmers are expected to comply with increasingly complex regulations and shoulder growing pressures, yet too often feel that their concerns are ignored.
Our countryside is not an inconvenience to be managed from Stormont. It is home to farming families, rural businesses and communities that make an enormous contribution to Northern Ireland. Those communities deserve to be listened to, respected and properly represented when decisions are made that affect their lives and livelihoods.
We welcome the publication of an independent review and the acceptance of its recommendations, but this cannot be the end of the matter. The Minister must address the outstanding questions, ensure that concerns about potentially overlooked witnesses are properly investigated and provide a clear timetable for implementing and independently monitoring the recommendations. The people of Fivemiletown deserve answers, and the wider farming community deserves confidence in the department responsible for its interests.
Accepting ten recommendations is not the same as accepting responsibility. The Minister must now demonstrate that he is prepared to take responsibility for what happened and begin rebuilding the trust that has been so badly damaged.
Countryside Alliance Ireland will continue to stand with rural communities and hold those in positions of responsibility to account. Rural Northern Ireland deserves better.