Two Northern Irish farmers have been given substantial fines after being convicted on separate charges following cattle identification inspections.
Alan McFarland, 61, of Clogher, Co Tyrone, was convicted at Dungannon Magistrates Court and was fined £2,600 and given a 12-month conditional discharge on an obstruction charge.
He was convicted of one charge of failure to notify the movement of cattle off his holding and one charge of obstructing a Department of Agriculture (DAERA) inspector, plus three charges of failure to notify the movement or birth of cattle onto his holding.
He was also convicted of one charge of failure to attach an approved ear tag to an animal, one charge of failure to notify the birth of an animal, one charge of failure to present veterinary medicine records and one charge of failure to present a herd register.
The case arose following a cattle identification inspection carried out by officers from DAERA Welfare and Enforcement Branch.
Meanwhile, Robert McFarland, 29, also of Clogher, was convicted of one charge of using an ear tag to identify an animal which had already been used to identify another animal. He was fined £500.
The case arose, from a number of discrepancies found during a cattle identification inspection carried out by DAERA’s Welfare and Enforcement Branch.
