The Agriculture Minister’s condemned the treatment of animals by farmers screened on television last night.
A Prime Time Investigates programme showed scenes of animal cruelty at several marts.
It’s led to calls for proper enforcement of EU regulations to ensure animals are treated with respect.
Fianna Fail South MEP Billy Kelleher says he was disgusted and dismayed by what he saw, and he wants to see random spot-checks at all marts:
“What we have to do now is ensure that we have full enforcement of animal welfare legislation in Ireland and also enforcement of EU regulations around the transport of animals from Ireland to the European Union. So we need to ensure that those measures are put in place quickly, that we have our investigations into the individuals who are involved in this treatment of animals.”