McAleer welcomes opportunity to meet Dr Blake following Fivemiletown cull

Dr Martin Blake, former Chief Veterinary Officer for Ireland, has been appointed to carry out the review into the controversial cull of 51 cattle earlier this summer.

Sinn Fein’s agriculture spokesperson said: “During the informal committee meeting Dr Blake outlined the scope of the review, stressing that it will be timely, proportionate and firmly evidence led. Crucially, it will examine not only the legality and conduct of the cull, but also DAERA’s governance, decision-making and accountability, the public interest, the influence of social media, and wider questions around animal slaughter and welfare.

"The review will scrutinise the question of animal welfare, the events on the day of the operation and work backwards through the decisions taken by DAERA to the court for adjudication, testing those decisions against the Department’s own policies and procedures and hopefully lessons that can be learned to prevent a repeat.

”Dr Blake confirmed evidence gathering is already well underway, with approximately 200 documents provided by DAERA and significant work expected over the next four to six weeks,” Declan McAleer added.

"Members have been invited to submit concerns raised by constituents and relevant social media material.

"However, the review will rightly place the greatest weight on first-hand evidence from those present and the decision-makers responsible, rather than relying on social media commentary.

"Dr Blake confirmed that he will have access to the relevant written and digital records required to establish the facts fully.

"Most importantly, it must identify any failures and set out clearly what lessons DAERA needs to learn to prevent any repeat,” Mr McAleer concluded.