The independent unionist MP said that while Dr Martin Blake’s report identifies significant shortcomings in departmental planning, governance and operational delivery, it fails to establish the most fundamental issue: why DAERA decided that 51 cattle had to be shot in open fields, who took that decision and what evidence justified it?

Ms Lockhart is continuing to scrutinise the report and has called on Stormont’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA) Committee to undertake a detailed examination of its findings, ensuring that difficult questions and accountability are not simply brushed aside.”

The MP said: The findings of this unfortunate sequence of events make for deeply uncomfortable reading for Minister Muir and DAERA.

 “I have spent time going through Dr Blake’s review, and while it is a comprehensive piece of work, there are some glaring omissions and a shocking lack of detail on the most critical aspects of this controversial operation.

“The one thing I wanted to see in this 89-page report is the evidence DAERA relied on when it decided that 51 cattle had to be shot in open fields near Fivemiletown. I am still looking for it. It is not there!”

Ms Lockhart added: “Let me be clear. DAERA had to enforce a court order, but officials chose how that order would be implemented. There is a fundamental difference between having a legal obligation to enforce an order and deciding that the appropriate way to do so was to shoot 51 healthy animals.

“We know that some cattle had already been moved on. We know that a farmer came forward on the day, hoping to purchase some of the remaining animals. Yet the operation was already under way.

“So what efforts were made to identify potential buyers? Was phased removal properly considered? Were alternative arrangements explored? Who ruled out those options, and on what evidence, “questioned Ms Lockhart.

“These are not peripheral questions. They go to the very heart of whether this operation was necessary, proportionate and properly managed.”

Carla Lockhart continued: “Minister Muir has acknowledged the report, but appears keen to sidestep the issue and move on. The Department cannot simply point to ten recommendations for the future and expect everyone to forget about the barbaric event at the end of June.

“Before we hear another round of promises about getting things right next time, the Department must answer for what it did this time.

“I want to see the assessment of alternatives, the documented decision to proceed with the shooting operation and the briefings provided to the Minister. If these records exist, publish them. If the Department took a decision of this magnitude without properly documenting the rationale, then it should have the backbone to admit that too.”

The MP added: “Andrew Muir has said he neither authorised nor directed the Fivmiletown operation, while acknowledging that he was given information about it. The Minister can play Pontius Pilate all he likes, but he cannot wash his hands of responsibility for the Department he leads.

“I want him to tell farmers and the public exactly what he knew, when he knew it, who briefed him and who ultimately gave the go-ahead. Ministerial accountability cannot simply disappear when things go badly wrong.”

Carla Lockhart MP also expressed concern that the review does not provide the level of independent scrutiny that an incident of this gravity warranted. “This should have been a public inquiry from the outset,” she said.

“Veterinary, firearms and operational specialists should have been involved. Local people who witnessed what happened should have been properly heard, and the officials responsible for planning and executing the operation should have been required to explain their decisions in public.”

Ms Lockhart continues to call for that level of independent scrutiny. She said: “The AERA Committee must deep dive into the detail of this report, challenge the Department and pursue the questions that remain unanswered. This cannot become another exercise in departmental self-preservation.

“Farmers have been left deeply distressed by what happened in Fivemiletown. Public confidence in DAERA has been seriously damaged, and it will not be restored through warm words, recommendations or assurances that lessons have been learned.

“Ten recommendations for the future. Fifty-one cattle shot in June. The recommendations may help prevent a repeat, but they do not explain or justify what happened.”



Concluding, Carla Lockhart said: “If DAERA still stands over its decision, then let it put the evidence on the table. Farmers and the wider public deserve nothing less.”