A south Armagh farmer was fined a total of €13,500and ordered to pay €2,110 in costs and expenses at a court in Co Monaghan on Monday for breaches of the Department of Agriculture Bovine Regulation.
The case involved the movement of 45 cattle across the Border to the North from lands he had rented in Co Monaghan.
Mr Peter McGroder of Tullydonnell, Silverbridge, was also given a suspended jail sentence of six months by Judge Flann Brennan when he pleaded to a total of 45 charges at the District Court in Carrickmacross.
Prosecuting counsel, Mr Brendan Mulhall, told the court that a breach of the Department regulations regarding the movement of livestock - to protect the cattle industry - was serious as the Government spends €90 million annually in the fight against bovine disease which could have serious consequences for the livestock industry, estimated to be worth over €2 billion to the national economy.
Department of Agriculture official, Mr Louis Reardon, said the movement of livestock without appropriate approval was viewed most seriously by the Department. In this case, he said, the accused was prosecuted for failing to keep a proper register of his herd and for exporting his entire herd of 45 cattle to the North.
A farmer wishing to move animals must only do so within a 30-day specified period after they are tested.
He told the judge that Russia would not accept beef from Co Monaghan because it had the highest incidence of BSE in the country.
Defence lawyer, Mr Gerry Jones, claimed all his client had done was failed to notify the Department that he was moving his cattle from lands he had rented.
The animals were tested and he obtained a new herd number in the North.
He said all Mr McGroder had really done was to commit technical offences.
Judge Brennan fixed recognisance for a Circuit Court appeal.