Cattle cull: Muir says days of the UFU dictating government policy are over

In a statement on Friday the UFU said it “does not have the confidence in the independence of the review as presently constituted, including the scope of the Terms of Reference and appointment of a single person to conduct it.

“The UFU has consistently maintained that an investigation into an incident of this seriousness must be demonstrably independent, robust and capable of commanding the confidence of farm families and the wider public.”

John McLenaghan said calling for resignations was not a decision his union had taken “lightly”.

However he added that confidence had been “severely damaged”.

He said the most recent event is “just one of many instances where farmers feel that the Department has lost touch with farmers”.

“We no longer have confidence that the department can deliver.”

A Daera spokesperson said they and the minister were aware of the decision.

“An external independent review is already underway to review the action taken by Department officials in response to the Deprivation Order in Fivemiletown,” they continued.

“There are many strategic issues and challenges for agriculture.

“It is vital we face up to those challenges together to restore our environment and ensure a sustainable future for agriculture”.

Responding to the vote against the two named senior officials, the FDA union’s Robert Murtagh said: “This kind of performative stunt, naming and targeting officials, does not aid understanding and undermines the need for constructive dialogue.

“The UFU’s action appears also to be seeking to pre-empt and to influence the independent review already now in train.

“It should be awaiting its findings and recommendations before jumping to respond to voices who do not care about public service or indeed public servants.”