A Co Cork mart has been fined more than €4,000 after it admitted failing to ensure the welfare of a calf under European legislation that prohibits the lifting of the animal or the dragging of it by its head, ears, horns, leg or tail.
Cork Co-operative marts trading as Bandon Mart with a registered address at Market House in Macroom and a trading address to Distillery Road in Bandon pleaded guilty to offences under European regulations that were transposed into Irish law in 2006, relating to the transport of animals, designed to prevent handling them in such a way as to cause them unnecessary pain or suffering.
The offences in this case occurred at Bandon Mart on the 13 February 2023 and on 17 April that year.
Imogen McGuinness, an investigating officer from the Department of Agriculture, told the court that the matters were brought to her attention following an RTÉ Investigates programme broadcast on the 10 July 2023 called Milking It: Dairy's Dirty Secret.
Still photographs from the video footage used in that programme were handed into Bandon District Court Judge Joanne Carroll.
The company also admitted failing to ensure that the loading and unloading facilities for animals was adequately designed, constructed, maintained and operated in a way that would avoid injury or undue suffering to the animals, which were bull calves.
The offences all relate to European legislation designed to ensure the safety of the animals.
The charges related to breaches under article 3 of that legislation, that no animal should be transported in a manner causing it injury or undue suffering and article 9 which obliges those operating assembly centres to comply with technical rules such as not dragging animals or using a stick when they are loaded or unloaded from a vehicle.
The court heard that on 13 February 2023 a young man in the intake area took a young calf across a road, dragging and lifting its tail before proceeding to put it into a calf box.
This person was a customer at the mart who the court heard to date has not been identified.
He had a trailer and had not reversed it into position, instead dragging the animal across a road.
A second incident also occurred on that date in which an employee of the mart was seen to strike a young calf.
Overcrowding at the mart at its facilities had contributed to the problems.
The incident on 17 April related to the employee of a transporter company, using an ash stick.
The judge heard that this fell within the remit of the mart to ensure that calves are not hit with sticks under its licensing conditions.
Department officials had since met with the mart and barrister for them, Donnchadh McCarthy BL, said they had fully engaged and arranged additional training for staff since this case was taken.
Cork Co-operative Marts, trading as Bandon Mart, has no previous convictions and has been trading since 1956.
In late 2023 and early 2024 new procedures were put in place, some staff were disciplined and letters were sent out to its customers, he told the court.
Barrister for the Department of Agriculture Paula McCarthy BL said it would be seeking costs in this case of €3,500 plus VAT.
Judge Joanne Carroll acknowledged the mart’s early guilty plea in this case and the actions it had taken since.
She fined Bandon Mart €2,000 for its failure to prevent the dragging of an animal, €750 for operating inadequate loading and unloading facilities in a way not to cause harm or undue suffering to an animal and €1500 for the offence dated the 17 April 2023 over the striking of an animal.
The company has four months in which to pay these fines and costs.
