A Co Monaghan farmer has described the shooting dead of five cattle on his land by members of the Defence Forces as "very distressing".
Speaking to RTÉ News, John Hoey said that he only became aware of the army's presence when he heard the first shots being fired at the cattle.
He said he told his partner to take their son inside their home for safety, as four animals ran back towards the farmhouse while shots were still being fired at them.
Three of the cattle were then shot inside the fence just across from the family home. Mr Hoey said he was devastated to see this happen in front of his eyes.
He said there were eight army men involved and when they shot the last animal as it tried to run away, it fell dead on the roadway.
Mr Hoey said that he does not accept the cattle had tuberculosis, and said that he did not know of any security issues.
The farm is situated outside Carrickmacross and is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings.
Mr Hoey acknowledged that the Criminal Assets Bureau had previously tried to get a judgment against him but it did not succeed, adding that they had nothing on him.
Animal welfare groups have expressed anger at the shooting dead of the animals.
Aideen Yourell from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports said: "Surely there had to be a better way to contain these animals, a more humane way rather than bringing out the army.
"This kind of horrific incident must never happen again, it's totally inhumane."
An official from the Insolvency Service of Ireland dealing with the bankruptcy proceedings told RTÉ News that he "had a duty to recover value from assets of bankruptcy estates and it is clearly not in my interests to kill cattle."
Chris Lehane said they had "tried to take all the cattle off the farm with experienced cattle assistants", but some were "wild and dangerous".
Mr Lehane alleged the "removal of the remaining five cattle was not possible due to security issues over persons involved in previous removals."
He added the decision to carry out a cull using trained members of the Defence Forces was "reluctantly made" in the interests of cattle, public safety and to prevent the spread of TB.
TDs and senators have raised the issue in both the Dáil and the Seanad, with Independent TD Michael Healy Rae describing it as "an outrageous action".
Angry scenes in Dáil over @defenceforces being brought in to shoot 5 cattle in Monaghan #dail @rtenewshttps://t.co/OzBP0eml6I
— Conor McMorrow (@ConorMcMorrow) July 7, 2016
Sinn Féin's Martin Ferris said the killing of the cattle was "unjustifiable" and asked if it was sanctioned by the Department of Agriculture.
Independent4Change deputy Clare Daly said the shooting was an "inappropriate action by the Defence Forces".
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil's Niamh Smyth said that farmers in financial difficulty who are facing evictions repossessions are distressed about what happened. She claimed that the situation can only be described as "wild west behaviour".
Minister of State at the Department of Justice David Stanton said the decision to kill the cattle was a matter of last resort and not taken lightly.
He said it was taken as a matter of public safety by the official assignee, the Department of Agriculture and the gardaí.
