Cork farmer admits injecting cattle with slurry
A west Cork farmer has been jailed for three years for trying to defraud the Department of Agriculture.
37-year-old Cornelius Keane from Bawnbue, Drimoleague, Co Cork admitted injecting some cattle with slurry to fake the symptoms of TB.
At Cork Circuit Criminal Court Keane pleaded guilty to four sample charges related to the scheme.
The court was told that Keane stood to gain around £20,000 in compensation from the Government if his plan had worked.
John Murray, a veterinary inspector with the Department of Agriculture told the court that Keane injected 49 of his 133 cattle with slurry washings from his milking parlour.
He hoped to create in effect what would look like the symptoms of tuberculosis.
Mr Murray said the animals had huge swellings and were in extreme pain when the farm was inspected on the 15th February last year.
Keane apologised in court today saying he had been in financial difficulty at the time.
