Some 1,272 cattle were seized on welfare and traceability grounds last year, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.Figures provided by the Department of Agriculture show that Kilkenny was by far the county with the highest number of cattle seized in 2024, more than double the next nearest county.
Some 1,272 cattle were seized on welfare and traceability grounds last year, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.
Figures provided by the Department of Agriculture show that Kilkenny was by far the county with the highest number of cattle seized in 2024, more than double the next nearest county.
A total of 467 cattle were taken by the Department in the marble county last year on welfare grounds.
A significant amount of these are likely to be accounted for by the seizure of what is understood to be upwards of 250 cattle on a Co Kilkenny drystock farm in December 2024.
In Galway, 182 cattle were seized last year, again on welfare grounds, as were 148 in Laois and 139 in Limerick. There were 113 cattle seized in Kildare last year.
A single figure was given for three counties; 46 cattle were seized across Leitrim, Longford and Sligo.
These were recorded under both welfare and traceability grounds.
The banner county also had 76 cattle seized for welfare breaches.
No cattle we seized in counties Monaghan, Louth, Cavan, Westmeath, Dublin, Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Waterford, Tipperary, Cork or Kerry last year.
Sheep
There were also a number of sheep seized by the Department last year, a total of 292.
This time Clare was the county with the most, with 176 taken by the Department.
Mayo was the county with the second highest number of sheep seized, with 70.
It was followed by 31 in Dublin and 15 in Kilkenny.
The vast majority of the animals were seized on welfare grounds, with five cattle in Roscommon and 11 in Donegal taken on the basis of traceability.
Six sheep in Mayo were also seized on traceability grounds.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: