THE 2023 Donegal IFA AGM took place in the Clanree Hotel in Letterkenny on Tuesday night where people travelled from all around Donegal to cast their vote for a new County Chairman.
The successful candidate on the night was Joe Sweeney.
A questions and answers section was held during vote casting and tallying where farmers asked the IFA President, Tim Cullinan about the major issues affecting them.
Control of dogs seemed a popular topic with one farmer asking why pet dogs are allowed to roam free.
“I saw a time many years ago when a farmer had to lay poison on their land to protect their livestock, that is not acceptable anymore,” he said.
Tim acknowledged the concerns saying he couldn’t agree more.
“We have had dog attacks only a few miles away from where I live in Tipperary, in Moneygall. A horrendous one, 60 or 70 sheep were savaged in minutes. What we need is legislation,” he said.
Sheep Chairman, Adrian Gallagher said they are re-launching the ban on walking on farmland with pets as the busiest month of lambing begins.
“We are quite blunt on the fact we are saying no dogs are allowed. We aren’t going to list out that the Chihuahua is allowed or small dogs are allowed and the Bulldog isn’t.
“For us, no dogs at all are allowed to go up the hill and frighten sheep because any dog can cause havoc. They all can worry sheep and cause the damage that we know of, especially now at this time of year when sheep are lambing.
“I know we are being very blunt about it but I think it is the right policy to take,” he said.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)