Relevant Matter
Public policy or programme
Public Policy Area
Agriculture
Period
1 May. 2026 to 31 Aug. 2026
Specific Details
Farm Animal Welfare
Intended results
To raise with the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine a recent high-profile incident, circulated in media and social media, that has been brought to IFA's attention by concerned farmers, of an enforcement action carried out by DAFM officials.
To highlight animals being euthanised on farm in unacceptable circumstances and IFA believe the circumstances are not consistent with the basic principles of animal welfare, required of responsible actors in carrying out this process.
That IFA fully understand the importance of facilitating the euthanasia of animals on farm to prevent further suffering of the animal, and in certain emergency circumstances, the euthanasia of numbers of animals, to prevent disease spread in very specific circumstances.
To stress that, in order to ensure the best practice when numbers of animals are to be euthanised, this should be carried out in specialist facilities.
To request a meeting with the Chief Veterinary Officer on this matter to discuss the Department of Agriculture's approach to these situations.
That as the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council (FAWAC) has the remit to advise the Department of Agriculture and the Minister on animal welfare, IFA believe it is important the council convenes a meeting at the earliest opportunity to address this important and very distressing issue for farmers and farm animals, with a view to establishing appropriate guidelines that must be adhered to.
Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity
Francie Gorman IFA President, David Hall IFA Animal Health Chair, Tomas Bourke IFA Senior Policy Executive, Donal Callaghan IFA Policy Executive
Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?)
No
Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign?
No
Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client?
No
Lobbying activity
The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.
Designated public officials lobbied
The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them.
As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.
June Fanning
Chief Veterinary Officer (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Martin Heydon
Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Sinead McPhillips
Secretary General (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
James Choiseul
Head of Agricultural Laboratories (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)