A judge yesterday condemned greedy farmers who use illegal growth promoters when he sentenced a farmer who obstructed a Department of Agriculture official to four months in prison and fined him a total of £4,000.
Judge Michael Connellan said the use of growth promoters was affecting the livestock industry and bringing shame to the farming community. "It's all motivated by greed . . . and it's just not on," he said.
Noel Lynch (29), from Caherconnor, Churchtown, north Cork, pleaded guilty at a special sitting of Buttevant District Court to two counts of possessing hormone growth promoters.
A Department veterinary inspector, Mr Brian Flaherty, said Lynch was a beef-fattening farmer, and one of his cattle tested positive at a meat factory. He and a team of investigators went to Lynch's farm, where they found three bottles of a banned hormone cocktail. The cocktail was used to increase animal weight. Mr Flaherty said he heard Lynch whispering to his mother, for whom he was running the 200-acre farm. Mr Flaherty called out to Mrs Lynch but she ignored him and went to the farmhouse, and a plastic bag fell from under her coat.
Mr Flaherty said he put his foot in the door as she tried to close it, but Lynch came over and began wrestling him away. He had to remove his foot, and Mrs Lynch closed the door. He later got a warrant and returned to search the house. He found a hormone implant gun and an implant reel. The reel contained a banned hormone cocktail. When he asked Lynch about the cocktail, he was dismissive and abusive. He refused to answer any questions about where he got it. Mr David Sutton, defending, said Lynch had apologised to Mr Flaherty for obstructing him. He had no previous convictions and was very remorseful for his actions.
Judge Connellan sentenced Lynch to four months for obstructing Mr Flaherty and to three concurrent months on two counts of possessing illegal growth promoters. He fined him £1,000 on each count and £1,000 for possessing the implant gun.