Member's statement: Cattle Cull in County Tyrone
Member's statement by Mrs Deborah Erskine on .
- MLA
- Mrs Deborah Erskine
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 7 September 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Cattle Cull in County Tyrone
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5669629
Read the official Assembly record
Text
When it comes to dealing with serious concerns brought to Ministers and Departments, we cannot talk out of both sides of our mouth. Concerns must be taken seriously, investigated properly and acted upon quickly. On 29 June, in Fivemiletown, a deeply concerning incident unfolded, with the slaughter of 51 cattle. I want to make it absolutely clear that nobody is disputing the court's decision and the order regarding the farm in question. The issue is DAERA's handling of that incident and the questions that remain about how it was managed. Alarm bells rang for me when the response from the Minister began to paint a very different picture from the one experienced by people on the ground. I wrote to him on 30 June, and his response appeared to side with officials and, in doing so, blame the public. Those same constituents heard gunshots and were upset and horrified by the scenes that they had witnessed. From the very beginning, I made clear to the Department that this was not something that could simply be brushed aside and that there were serious questions that needed to be answered. When the Minister subsequently responded by praising the staff involved, I wrote to him again and raised those concerns directly and promptly, doing what I believe any elected representative should do when serious concerns are brought to their attention. I made sure that the Minister was aware of them and gave him the opportunity to act decisively. It required the issue getting into the mainstream media before the Minister felt compelled to take the matter semi-seriously. That is not good enough. Talk is cheap. Talking a good game in the Assembly Chamber about animal welfare is one thing, but demonstrating that commitment when a serious incident occurs is quite another. The review must not be a whitewash. It must clearly identify what steps could and should have been taken but were not. It must establish which aspects of policy and guidance failed and what the Minister will do to rectify those failures because confidence in the Minister has been completely lost, not just in my constituency but right across Northern Ireland. That is why my colleague Jonny Buckley is standing by what he said he would do and laying a motion of no confidence in the Agriculture Minister today. I will be signing that motion, and I encourage other MLAs sitting in this Chamber, who have heard the concerns and calls from our farming industry, to do the same.
417 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.90).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.05 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.90 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:12 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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