The animal welfare organisation, Compassion in World Farming Ireland, last night demanded an explanation for the "shocking" level of cattle death on Irish farms.
The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, yesterday told journalists that 200,000 cattle died on Irish farms last year. He has asked the Department's central veterinary laboratory to look into the matter.
"I think the figure is disappointingly high given that welfare and husbandry standards in Ireland are high," Mr Walsh said.
"There will always be casualties on farms, and animals will die on the best-run farms, but this requires investigation."
He said the problem had been identified for the first time because of the Central Movement Monitoring System (CMMS) computer system, which records the movements, including deaths, of all animals.
"On-farm losses of this magnitude are best judged in the context of the number of cattle slaughtered for beef production in 2002. On this basis, on-farm deaths amounted to approximately 10 per cent of cattle slaughtered."
Before controls were put in place, dead cattle would have been buried on farms, taken to knackeries, or disposed of without a formal record.
The Minister said: "I am surprised at the level of deaths and because of that I have asked the central veterinary laboratory of the Department to carry out a research project which will involve the regional laboratory service and veterinary practitioners."
He said research to determine why the animals had died had already begun, and that it was essential to identify causes and provide cattle farmers with preventive advice.
He said consumers should not be concerned about the issue because none of the animals involved would have entered the food chain.
But last night, Ms Mary-Anne Bartlett, the director of Compassion in World Farming Ireland, described the on-farm deaths as "shocking".
"I had no idea so many animals were dying on farms and I and the rest of the Irish public will want to know what is going on out there," she said.
Ms Bartlett, who is a member of the Department's animal welfare advisory council, said she wanted to see comparisons between the Irish on-farm mortality figures and those in other European countries.
"First of all I want to see the matter raised at the welfare advisory council and all the relevant information on the causes brought out publicly so the Irish people can see what is going on," she added.
Veterinary sources said last night that most of the deaths among cattle on Irish farms were caused by pneumonia or scour in calves, and that there was a lower rate of death in more mature animals.
However, there was general agreement that the Irish figures were worrying and above the European average.