A farmer in Co Cork has been disqualified from owning cattle and other animals for 15 years after he pleaded guilty to 30 animal cruelty and neglect charges.
Sentencing 49-year-old Denis O'Regan, of Dromaculling, Coachford, Co Cork, Judge Joanne Carroll said that the level of neglect "was shocking".
She made her comments after she heard evidence that Department of Agriculture veterinary inspectors found some 30 dead and decomposed carcasses on his farm, and a further 26 animals missing, when they visited in May 2024.
Sentencing O'Regan at Macroom District Court, Judge Carroll said "we are an agricultural country and we have to protect our very valuable agricultural industry".
Judge Carroll issued a 15 year disqualification order barring him from owning animals, and also imposed fines of €3,000 and a three month suspended prison sentence, for cattle tagging offences.
The court was told that O'Regan inherited the 170 acre farm from his uncle Jackie when he died. While in probate, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) was alerted to animal welfare concerns in 2020.
They found the farm overstocked - with up to 290 animals at one point - and a very high mortality rate and directed him to reduce his herd to 170 animals.
A farm plan was drawn up on the instructions of the executor of his uncle's estate which said he should just have 50 animals. But the court was told that he had not complied with the instructions. He had a reluctance to sell the animals or send them to the knackery and mortality rates were high.
DAFM Veterinary Inspector Maria Wall told Judge Carroll that they visited the farm again on 1 May 2024. She said that in her 20 years of farm visits, it was the worst farming situation she had ever seen.
"On a score of one to ten, with ten being the most serious, this was a ten. He didn't seem to understand that a young animal would calve and his herd would increase - he didn't seem to get that concept."
She said that when they arrived they found some 30 very thin cows in the fields, and others in out-buildings.
"There was an animal like a cow but it was just 300 kilos. It was put in-calf too young. The grass was flattened as a result of the animal 'paddling', indicating distress and that it had been unable to get up.
"He had allowed a bull access too early - these were like teenage pregnancies.
Strong smell of decomposing animals
Inspector Wall said there was a very strong smell of decomposing animals and behind a tractor and slurry tank under plastic they found the carcasses of animals.
She said: "This was like a graveyard with the animals arranged - approximately 18 to 19 of them - in order of how long they were dead.
"It really showed the intent not to bury the animals which should have been sent to the knackery. There is a risk of disease if dogs got at them. You cannot bury animals in Ireland."
Where the cows were to calve-down, she said they found the carcasses of very decomposed calves half buried under straw - "in an attempt to hide them", she said.
Photographs of what they found were shown to the judge who remarked that they showed "an extreme form of animal cruelty".
In one, the backbone of an animal could be seen sticking out - emaciated and thin - with a calf beside it having given birth in a "totally unsuitable place", Inspector Wall said.
"The animal's leg was out to rise, but it was so weak and thin it had developed post-partum paralysis."
They also found that the yard was not maintained or cleaned; slurry tanks were overflowing; there was no grassland management and there were no plans for winter fodder.
They issued notices requiring O'Regan to dispose of all the dead animals, and to reduce the herd to 60, as well as ensure that they were properly fed and watered, but when they returned in January 2025, they found he had not fully complied with their instructions.
"He doesn't intend to cause the animal harm but he doesn't seem to realise his action or inaction leads to serious animal welfare issues," Inspector Wall said.
The court was told that of the eight animals left, three are breeding bulls, and the remainder are five steers.
Meg Burke BL for the DAFM said given the harrowing picture outlined in court by Inspector Wall, the intention was to apply for a Disqualification Order for a minimum of 10 years.
Court told three weeks needed to dispose of animals
O'Regan's solicitor Pat Gould said it was fair to say that his client had no insight into his actions and what they would cause. He has let a portion of the farm, but will need three weeks to dispose of the remaining animals.
"He seems to have been in difficulties from the very start. He was 45 when he inherited the farm. There were no difficulties with this farm prior to this.
"The facilities were quite good and he had put alot of money into machinery which hasn't been used," Mr Gould told Judge Carroll.
"He had some experience working with his uncle, but he didn't seem to understand or follow directions he was given by the department. The end result is that he is finished with farming. He now lives alone on the farm after his mother died two weeks ago," Mr Gould added.
Judge Carroll said it was clear there is pschological impairment. She described it as an appalling case of animal cruelty, "the neglect the animals endured is hard to comprehend".
She accepted there was no wilful intent on the part of the defendant to neglect the animals - or pose a disease threat to the community - but she said the level of neglect was shocking.
Imposing fines totalling €3,000 and a suspended three month sentence for tagging offences, she disqualified O'Regan from owning any animals - bar three small pets - for a period of 15 years.
