![\"screenshot\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786392620_801_.jpeg\")
\n Image of the dead cows in a Co Tyrone field Social media<\/p>\n
NORTHERN IRELAND\u2019S AGRICULTURE minister has said he has received a death threat after the controversial culling of 51 cows by shooting in Co Tyrone.<\/p>\n
Stormont\u2019s Agriculture Committee held an emergency meeting today on the issue.<\/p>\n
Alliance minister Andrew Muir told the committee that there has been \u201cmisinformation suggesting that I sanctioned or ordered the cull\u201d and that he has received a death threat.<\/p>\n
Muir said he has had to discuss this with the PSNI and that other officials have had to \u201cconsider security measures and personal safety\u201d.<\/p>\n
He also hit out at \u201cmisogynistic, sectarian and homophobic abuse\u201d in relation to the issue.\n<\/p>\n
Cattle cull<\/p>\n
The cull took place after a man was convicted of a number of\u00a0offences\u00a0and disqualified for life from keeping animals.<\/p>\n
During welfare inspections carried out between 2022 and 2024, Muir said the conditions on the farm were \u201cgrotesque\u201d and that the \u201cimages of emaciated animals shall never leave my mind\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added that there was little food and water for the animals, and that any food that was available has been \u201ccontaminated with urine and dung\u201d.<\/p>\n
Muir said a \u201clarge number of animals were caused unnecessary suffering\u201d and that 33 animals carcasses were found at the farm.<\/p>\n
Following this, the agriculture department was required by the courts to deprive the man of any livestock he had.<\/p>\n
Muir said the first step was to \u201cseek to work constructively with the individual\u201d and that the man was given an extended period of three weeks to \u201csell, give away or transfer his stock\u201d and that he was offered advice on how to do this.<\/p>\n
However, only a small number of animals were moved and Muir said the department \u201chad to act on the legal order placed upon it by the court\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said it was the \u201cprofessional judgement of veterinary officials\u201d that euthanasia was the \u201conly viable option\u201d and that there was \u201cno reasonable alternative\u201d available.<\/p>\n
\u2018Wild west scene\u2019<\/p>\n
However, the method and location of the culling has garnered significant controversy, with local Sinn F\u00e9in councillor Eugene McConnell describing it as a \u201cwild west scene\u201d.<\/p>\n
At the end of June, 51 cows were shot dead in a field in near Fivemiletown in Co Tyrone.<\/p>\n
The culling attracted widespread criticism after claims some of the cattle had been shot by Department of Agriculture staff in view of some members of the public.<\/p>\n
\n Image of the dead cows in a Co Tyrone field Social media<\/p>\n
Social media\n<\/p>\n
DUP MLA Deborah Erskine said she was made aware of a \u201cfather and son driving past this field and witnessing this in broad daylight\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking today before the committee, Muir said the cows were shot at three sites, and that at two of these sites, there were no issues arising with exposure to the public.<\/p>\n
He added that officials had ensured to \u201cminimise exposure to public view\u201d before the culling.<\/p>\n
However, he acknowledged that at the last of the three sites, \u201ccommentary is centred around the public view\u201d.<\/p>\n
Muir said that before cows were due to be culled at the last site, a farmer had expressed interest in buying some of the cattle.<\/p>\n
Muir said the culling stopped \u201cimmediately\u201d and it was agreed that some of the cows could be moved to a lorry for transfer.<\/p>\n
He said the animals were then chased in an attempt to gather them, but in a move \u201cdemonstrating the very real challenges of gathering the animals on the site, they were then released onto a public road\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt which stage, conscious of wider public safety, (department) staff intervened, with the help of some local farmers, to move the animals off the road, where they were then humanely euthanised.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muir said that by this point, \u201ca small number of protesters had gathered\u201d and that operations ceased until they had dispersed.<\/p>\n
This\u00a0meant that the operation did not finish until after 10pm, resulting in the carcasses of the cows not being collected until the next morning.<\/p>\n
Independent review<\/p>\n
Speaking at the committee, DUP deputy leader Michelle McIlveen said the agriculture department \u201chas lost all credibility in the eyes of the public where animal welfare is concerned\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened appears to be brutal, appears to be inhumane, and ironically, what was meant to be an animal welfare intervention has become an animal welfare scandal at the hands of the department, and that\u2019s totally regrettable.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that \u201cthere is anger right across the farming community\u201d as a result.<\/p>\n
While Muir appeared before the committee, a number of farmers held a protest outside Stormont, where the meeting was being played live to the crowd.<\/p>\n
![\"farmers-protest-at-stormont-buildings-belfast-as-a-review-is-held-on-the-51-cattle-which-were-shot-dead-last-month-on-land-near-fivemiletown-in-cotyrone-in-a-cull-carried-out-by-the-department-of-a\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786392621_559_.jpeg\")
\n Farmers protest at Stormont buildings Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n
Muir said he \u201cappreciates this is a sensitive, complex, and very distressing case\u201d and added: \u201cWhen I saw the photos and videos of animal carcasses in open fields and learned of the range of allegations circulating, I too have been concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that in \u201crecognition of these concerns\u201d, there will be a \u201cfull and thorough independent review\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said this \u201cwill be thorough but not prolonged\u201d and that he wants to see it \u201ccompleted promptly by early autumn, so that any learning can be identified and implemented quickly\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Deeply concerning\u2019<\/p>\n
Muir then turned to the \u201cvery real impact of some of the misleading and inaccurate reporting and commentary that has surrounded this case\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wave of misogynistic, sectarian, and homophobic hate, threats and intimidation against both officials and myself is despicable and deeply concerning,\u201d said Muir.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that I have now received a death threat is nothing short of a disgrace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that I have had to discuss this with the police, and also officials who have had to consider security measures and personal safety, is unacceptable and seriously troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NORTHERN IRELAND\u2019S AGRICULTURE minister has said he has received a death threat after the controversial culling of 51…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[26505,232791,9,10,19440,54486,13,14,258339,6,11,12,15,16,5,93932,7,8,32,65,66,67],"class_list":["post-630738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-alliance","tag-andrew-muir","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-cattle","tag-culling","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-fivemiletown","tag-headlines","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-stormont","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-tyrone","tag-world","tag-world-news","tag-worldnews"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117073033763448722","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}