This article is from page 18 of the 2008-06-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
THE Department of Agriculture said yesterday that the act of handling stolen cattle was “reprehensible” and the sentence imposed on a Clare farmer last week was “significant” and would act as a deterrent.
At Ennis Circuit Court last week, Gerard O’Doherty of Moymore, La- hinch pleaded guilty to the handling of three stolen cattle in 2003/04.
In response yesterday, a spokesman for the department said, “Clearly the offence of handling stolen cattle is reprehensible and the department does everything in its power to pre- vent it or as in this case assist the gardai in investigating it.”
“The department does from time to time receive reports of stolen ani- mals. However, this is not that com- mon. These cases are difficult to in- vestigate. However, in this case the farmers could identify their animals and the animals had been correctly and accurately registered on the de- partment’s database. This made it possible for the investigating offic- ers to establish the proper identity of the animals and return them to their rightful owners.”
In response to Mr O’Doherty’s plea of guilt, a spokesman said, “The de- partment is pleased with the outcome of the investigation and acknowledge the co-operation between the gardai
and the department in bringing this complex investigation to a successful prosecution.
“The department is satisfied that the sentence imposed is significant and would act as a deterrent,’ he added.
“The department is well aware that the vast majority of farmers com- ply with the department’s rules and regulations and the department takes a proactive approach in dealing with those who do not. The department will invest whatever resources are necessary to carry out investigations and the local District Vetinerary Of- ficer did invest significant staff re- sources in terms of staff time spent on this particular investigation.
“The department takes a proactive approach in ensuring that farmers comply with the law. The department views any breaches of the legislation as serious particularly in the area of illegal movement/identification and disease control of livestock,” he added.
“The department hopes that suc- cessful prosecutions would deter the minority of non-compliant farm- ers from perpetrating any further breaches of the legislation.
“The correct tagging and registra- tion of animals does act as a barrier and does, as in this case, assist in investigating when breaches are sus- pected,” he said.