Vet supports Kilkenny farmer's claim that chemical poisoning affected herd

A VETERINARY surgeon has supported allegations by a farmer who claims his dairy herd has suffered from exposure to poisonous chemicals.

Despite years of research, and costs of some €500,000, a new report by the Department of Agriculture has failed to find the cause of dying vegetation and stunted growth, high calf mortality and poor milk yield among the animals on Dan Brennan’s 170-acre Kilkenny farm outside Castlecomer.

The problems on the farm have been occurring intermittently over the past 20 years.

Earlier this week, Mr Brennan told The Irish Times that the report, published last weekend, was flawed and that the authors had ignored crucial blood tests. The report was carried out by Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis at University College Dublin.

Yesterday, Tom Slevin, a veterinary surgeon with more than 45 years experience, said he believed the dairy herd has suffered from exposure to the toxic chemical cadmium. He explained that “exposure to this very toxic heavy metal” causes “many negative effects on the health of plants and animals”.

He added: “When cadmium gets into animals it interferes with their cell metabolism” and will eventually kill them by effectively causing them to starve to death.

He believes the cattle may have inhaled a gas variant of the chemical. Mr Slevin said it was “significant” that during periods when a local brick factory was in production “the cattle did not put on weight in the normal way”. But “during periods when the factory was closed, their weight gain trebled”.

Cement Roadstone Holdings has said there was no evidence to link the Ormonde brick factory with the problems. A spokeswoman said that the report’s conclusion “supports the company’s long-held position on this matter”. The factory, located close to the farm, suspended production in December 2008.

The farmer and vet were sceptical at the announcement that Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith is to refer the report to “an inter-agency group” involving three Government departments and two State bodies. Mr Brennan said “these agencies all have had this report since last March”.

In a further development, the department said it was “for the Environmental Protection Agency to determine if there is evidence from this research that warrants further investigations of the manufacturing process in the facility adjacent to Mr Brennan’s farm”.