Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir said he received a death threat following the shooting of 51 cattle on a farm near Fivemiletown in County Tyrone. The revelation came during an emergency meeting at Stormont on Monday, where he addressed the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs oversight committee.

The cull was carried out by DAERA officials after a court ordered the removal of animals owned by a man convicted of serious animal welfare offences and disqualified from keeping animals for life. Muir said the department had no reasonable alternative but to act on site to comply with the order.

The operation has drawn criticism because DAERA's Humane Slaughter Team shot the animals in fields surrounding the farm rather than in a yard or enclosed space. Muir has ordered an external review into the circumstances.

Muir told the committee that the animals were starving and that conditions on the farm were very poor. Inspections between January 2022 and January 2024 found contaminated feed and emaciated animals, and the remains of 33 cattle carcasses were located on the site.

He also said he and departmental officials had been subjected to threats and intimidation, including misogynistic, sectarian and homophobic abuse. He asked for calm and urged people to moderate their language.

DUP MLA Michelle McIlveen criticised the department, saying the handling of the case had damaged its credibility on animal welfare. She said the farming community was angry and that what was intended as an animal welfare intervention had become a scandal.

At a simultaneous rally outside Stormont, farmers and political representatives protested the cull. North Down DUP MLA Stephen Dunne said there was deep concern about the shooting of healthy cattle and that farmers wanted answers from the minister. Newtownards councillor Richard Smart said the cattle could have been sold and that the method was distressing.