Reports of dead animal carcasses discarded in Roscommon countryside

Reports have emerged of dead animal carcasses being discarded in the Roscommon countryside, according to Shannonside FM.

The local radio station claims that Roscommon County Council is investigating environmental complaints relating to dead calves, lambs and deer being discarded.

As reported by Shannonside FM, details released under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that the council received five environmental complaints relating to animals in the third month of this year.

Meanwhile, the council was notified of a dead deer in the south of the county – while another animal carcass was reported in Ballinaheglish, Shannonside FM reported.

Complaints relating to the dumping of household appliances and the pollution of watercourses were also made to Roscommon County Council, it added.

AgriLand, a spokesperson for Roscommon County Council outlined that it is not uncommon for these types of incidents to be reported.

“We would get maybe two or three complaints relating to animal carcasses every month. It is an expensive issue for us, because we have to pay to get them taken away,” the spokesperson added.

While the council investigates these individual incidents, in most cases they lead to a dead end – as there may be no way of identifying the owner of the animal, the spokesperson explained.

A busy period for knackeries

The fodder crisis that faced farmers across the country in recent months, twinned with the difficult weather conditions experienced this spring, has meant that many operators of knackeries have reported an increased workload in the early part of 2018.

Some knackeries contacted by AgriLand reported that their workloads were as much as double what they were compared to the same period last year. However, the significance of the increases varied depending on which part of the country the knackeries were operating in.