A Co. Fermanagh farmer has been convicted in court over the condition of animals on his farm.
78-year-old Wesley Lee of Cleenish Road, Cleenish, Bellanaleck, Enniskillen was today (Wednesday, August 6) convicted at Enniskillen Court on two charges under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 and one under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013.
Lee was convicted on:
- Two charges of failure to ensure the needs of animals were met;
- One charge of failure to produce a medicine record when required.
The farmer was convicted and fined £600 plus £15 offender levy and £72 summons fee.
‘Poor condition’
The case arose following numerous welfare inspections carried out by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Veterinary Service officials between April 13, 2023 and September 4, 2023.
During these inspections, one sheep was found to be caught on briars and was euthanised by a DAERA veterinary officer as, in their opinion, it was suffering unnecessarily.
There were a number of lame animals and animals in poor condition on the premises being kept in dirty conditions without access to clean drinking water.
There was no evidence of suitable pens for calving or suitable isolation pens for sick or injured animals and young calves had no access to dry lying areas.
During one of the inspections, one of the sick animals died. Lee was asked to provide medicine records to demonstrate treatment of the lame and sick animals seen, but was unable to provide such.
DAERA
DAERA has stated that it gives high priority to the welfare of animals and operates a vigorous enforcement policy to ensure full compliance of regulatory requirements.
Any breaches are investigated thoroughly and offenders prosecuted as necessary, it added.
The improper use of medicines in animals presents a risk to human health, DAERA has stressed.
This is of particular relevance when it comes to observing withdrawal times of medicines administered to animals which are subsequently slaughtered for human consumption.
The main areas for concern are:
- The slaughter for human consumption of an animal before the recommended withdrawal period has been observed for drugs which may themselves have direct side effects in humans;
- The slaughter of animals entering the food chain containing a drug to which human pathogens are capable of developing a resistance which may reduce the effectiveness with which human diseases can be controlled by a drug.
If proper medicine records are not kept, there is a risk of animals which have been treated, but whose withdrawal periods have not been observed, being slaughtered for human consumption, or sold on to another herd from which they will be slaughtered for human consumption without withdrawal times being observed.
