The actions in question were undertaken under the overall control of the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy acting as an Officer of the Court who has stated publicly that the decision to proceed in the way he did in relation to the cattle was made very reluctantly and was made in the interests of the public safety of the local community.
It should also be noted that the cattle were at the time in the ownership of the Official Assignee, into whose name the herd number had been transferred and that the herd in question was TB restricted on 18 February due to the disclosure of TB lesions in cattle slaughtered from the herd. Significant efforts had been made to contain the animals but these proved futile because of their feral nature. In the interests of public safety, the Official Assignee, in consultation with the Garda and the Department, considered that the most optimal course of action to be taken was that the animals be euthanised. The protocol agreed between this Department and the Department of Defence was invoked and the animals were subsequently killed by skilled army personnel in line with the agreed protocol.
It is the view of the Department that the actions taken were the most humane in the circumstances and I am advised that there was no alternative action available to the Official Assignee in the circumstances, taking account of the fact that the interest of public safety was the primary consideration at all times.
