Information from the public is now being requested as part of a review into the culling of 51 cattle by officials in Northern Ireland.

Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) announced that a review would be carried out, after the shooting of the cattle in Fivemiletown, Co. Tyrone, in late June.

The cattle were culled under a court deprivation order preventing a herd keeper from keeping animals.

The former chief veterinary officer of the Republic of Ireland, Dr. Martin Blake, is leading the review.

DAERA said that a dedicated "mailbox" has been established to receive "relevant, verifiable information" from members of the public and external parties.

Anyone with information relevant to the planning, decision-making or implementation of the operation carried out by DAERA in Fivemiletown on June 29 and 30 is invited to submit it for consideration.

Information submitted should be relevant to the scope of the independent review, as set out in the published terms of reference, DAERA said.

The department said that information submitted to the mailbox, including any personal data provided, will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection requirements and used only for the purposes of supporting the review.

Dr. Blake was appointed last week by the DAERA Minister Andrew Muir to lead "an independent and evidence-based assessment" of the planning, decision-making and implementation of the operation.

"The review will assess whether the operation was conducted in accordance with the relevant legal framework, departmental procedures and accepted standards of public administration and it will identify lessons to inform future practice," according to DAERA.

The department said the findings and recommendations of the review will be published as soon as possible after its completed.

Call for Muir resignation

A farming union has called for Minister Andrew Muir to resign over the controversial Tyrone cattle cull.

The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) said that it does not have confidence in the independence of the review in its current form.

In an emergency meeting last week, the UFU Executive also called for the immediate resignations of permanent secretary at DAERA, Katrina Godfrey, and Northern Ireland chief veterinary officer, Brian Dooher.

In a statement, UFU president John McLenaghan said that calling for the resignations "is not a decision the UFU has taken lightly".

"However, confidence has been severely damaged and the most recent event is just one of many instances where farmers feel that the department has lost touch with farmers," he added.