The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has rejected claims that it is attempting to dictate policy to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) following a controversial cattle cull. UFU President John McLenaghan stated that the union's call for a review into the Fivemiletown cull and its implications for ministerial accountability is not an attempt to influence departmental policy, but a historical collaboration with government authorities to support farmers and the industry.
"This organisation has 120 years of history," McLenaghan told the BBC. "It has worked with every government there has been, every competent authority there has been - whether it's Westminster or Stormont. Any political party that has held the ministry, we've worked with them to help them, to help our farmers, to help our industry. To describe that as dictating is not only unfair on the Ulster Farmers' Union, it's also actually somewhat disingenuous."
McLenaghan highlighted that the UFU is frequently engaged in "co-design" projects with Daera, often due to staffing and resource limitations within the department. He emphasized that the UFU's request for Minister Andrew Muir's resignation, or at least a review of the terms of reference, was prompted by specific concerns about the Fivemiletown cull review process.
Review Process and Welfare Concerns
The review into the cull is to be led by Dr. Martin Blake, former Chief Veterinary Officer for Ireland, with a report expected by early autumn. The UFU has argued that the review should extend beyond a procedural analysis of whether veterinarians followed protocol. McLenaghan stated, "We were always clear that in order for this review to be thorough, to get the answers that we need, it needed to be more than just purely an analysis of 'did the vets follow procedure?' It needed to look into the legalities of the process and also take consideration of both animal and farmer welfare... that we didn't get."
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The union has proposed a three-person panel for the review, arguing that this would allow for a more efficient division of labor and potentially expedite the findings. "if there were three people on the panel, like the UFU had requested, they could share the workload and it could be completed faster," McLenaghan added.
Political Motivations
Alliance Deputy Leader Eóin Tennyson, however, suggested that the UFU's call for Muir's resignation is being used as a pretext to target the minister's position. "The fact that the UFU have called for a resignation before that review has even concluded, I think speaks very plainly to the motivations behind this," Tennyson stated. "They are not concerned about the case at Fivemiletown or animal welfare issues, as they profess. They are concerned about the fact that for the first time in the history of the Northern Ireland Executive we have a minister who is not beholden to vested interest."
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Tennyson also contended that a swift review is necessary and that appointing a larger panel of experts, as suggested by the UFU, would delay the outcome. He implied that Muir's independence from traditional interests is the true reason for the union's actions, rather than a genuine concern for animal welfare in the Fivemiletown incident.