No quitten we're whelan on to chitchat 11

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122250345#Comment_122250345

I didn't know anything about it - I'm in a different part of the college altogether.

I saw the headline and wondered why? As in, why do academics and other non-farmers need yet another talking shop?

They're very quick to blame farmers and "intensive agriculture in the south east" for all the ill-wills of the modern world, but farmers are the last ones to be invited to address their countless forums and conferences and explain the reality on the ground.

148multi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122249408#Comment_122249408

You must be far right patsy, sure aren't all middle of the road politicians getting abuse 😇

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122250663#Comment_122250663

Sure you can't be dealing with those unsullied farmers thicks the lot of them......

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122250742#Comment_122250742

Farmers might only disrupt the simple world of models and assumptions with their talk of the natural world which is messy and complex and unpredictable.

50HX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122249408#Comment_122249408

Was it the greens patsy😁😁

patsy_mccabe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122249543#Comment_122249543

I was doing my bit for a good man for Europe (I think you might know him). Unfortunately he didn't make it.

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122250943#Comment_122250943

Agreed 👍

zetecescort

another brilliant race for the womens relay team, silver medal winners and made the favourties the Dutch work hard for the win

Base price

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122249706#Comment_122249706

We had 5 calling and three were up for re-election. One lad stayed for about two hours chatting - he is a farmer as well and we know him so it was more like a social visit. The favourite stayed a good half an hour but we also know him well, he topped the poll.

older by the day

We had about 4 called here. Who in their right mind would vote for a candidate that would not ask you personally for a vote. One lad called twice.

Castlekeeper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252291#Comment_122252291

That's gas, I'd be more inclined to vote for the person who I thought would do the best job rather than base it on canvassing. They're not going to get to everyone anyway and I wouldn't promise a vote to anyone or let anyone have the audacity to think they could hold me to such a thing.

I'll go so far as to say that canvassing should be banned, it could replaced by townhall meetings if desired. Let a candidate be judged on their record, not plamás.

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252541#Comment_122252541

Iknow where your coming from but round here it's usually the slightly urban based candatewho travels out to the sticks to lookfor the few votes that does the most good in office and the most canvassing ....... I suppose it's probably linked to get up and go. One lad here is a trogen to get stuff sorted and does all his rural canvassing personally

GNWoodd

Anyone watching the RTE Investigates programme on the horse abuse?
Some double standards from the Department of Agriculture - who claim to be responsible for what happens in the abattoir but not in the neighbouring shed, a few yards away !

Base price

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252599#Comment_122252599

Feck it, I meant to watch it but got tied up doing stuff on Agfood for a neighbour. Hopefully I can watch it on the RTE player now.

Edit to add - maybe I'd be better off not watching it.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252711#Comment_122252711

You'd better watch it. You'll know names of people filmed and mentioned.

What the blow back will be. I don't know. But probably fines and maybe jailtime for some shown.

Say my name

Sweden was mentioned.

Sweden has a long association with Irish horses. My father sold a foal to an Irish buyer. Years later we got a letter from Sweden thanking us for breeding such a nice horse. It was weird seeing the photographs included of one of our horses in a setting with red painted timber barns with snow on the ground. The owners had gotten our address from the foals passport.

Base price

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252778#Comment_122252778

I sold a nine yo RID in foal mare to Sweden years ago and the people that bought her were delighted. She produced some nice horses for them and they sent me photos of her and her offspring. When I sold her she was just 20 points short of Grade A.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252807#Comment_122252807

There must have been a thing for Irish draft breeding. The one we sold was by Prospect Pride out of a Legaun Prince mare.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252807#Comment_122252807

Part of that programme is of an Irish dealer buying Irish horses at auction for small money and putting new microchips in and reregistering the horses in a Northern Ireland studbook and changing the ages and identity of the horse. And then selling to Sweden.

Base price

OH and I are just after watching it and it's worse that I imagined. OH has feck all experience with horses (other than my old retired mare) and was shocked at the footage of how they handled the horses in the lairage.

DAFM have a lot to answer for in relation to passports/microchips and not monitoring the horse slaughter plant in Straffan.

AFAIK, DAFM approved facilities have CCTV cameras operating in the lairage - I know when I drive into a cattle/sheep factory that I'm monitored from the time of arrival, offloading, paperwork with all the checks in AIM's/TB status/eartags etc, and washing my vehicle until I depart.

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252599#Comment_122252599

They are a joke - same attitude from them in regards to issues with cruelty on puppy farms, illegal Greyhound exports etc.

Base price

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252980#Comment_122252980

I don't know but I thought that the local County Council have oversight on puppy farms.

I have heard around here that there are a couple of German/Austrian ladies buying Greyhounds from southern counties and exporting them for several years on the premise that they are rehoming them.

Albert Johnson

I watched it there although it did pain me to contribute towards RTE's viewing figures seeing as I considered them incapable of telling the complete truth about almost anything but that's beside the point.

I'd know all the people mentioned and I wasn't overly shocked by anything that was shown, that's not condoning it just that none of it was exactly top secret either. The actual physical treatment of the horses at the slaughter facility left a lot to be desired and is a big issue.

The whole passport system imo is unfit for purpose and is contributing to the issue. There's too many different groups involved, no real central database and the emphasis seems to be on making as much money out of passports as possible. If there was several different crowds issuing blue cards or sheep dispatch books and you'd to pay for them then I'm convinced there'd be a lot of stock running about with clean ears.

First of all I think that standard identification passports should be issued solely by 1 authority and should be free of charge. If you want a document registering the pedigree of a horse then it should be issued by the relevant breed society the same as a purebred cert and you pay a yearly subscription/fee ect and its kept separate to the actual ID document. The current system where you have to pay for everything, there's often long delays in issuing them, having to pay again to get replacements, transfer ownership ect leaves it often more hassle than it's worth to be compliant.

Secondly if I buy a horse there should be a way of moving the horse's ownership on the database without having to get the passport altered and paying for this. If I buy cattle or sheep at the mart or farm to farm I don't have to pay an additional fee to get them into my herd. This would massively help traceability but there's too much money at stake from vested interests as above.

As regards horse slaughter I thinks it a necessary part of the process but needs to be monitored. A lot of the horse's especially from the racing industry are unsuitable for much else once there competitive days are over for whatever reason. Horse's require care regardless of colour or breed and this is an expense. Once it's no longer viable or possible to provide this care an alternative solution is required. There was several horse slaughtering plants operating until recent year's and during the recession and the resulting horse trade collapse they helped mitigate what would have been a massive animal welfare issue.

The sad reality was that a lot of horse's at the time were virtually worthless and needed to be removed from the equation. Only that the route to slaughter was there we'd have seen a lot of them dying with hunger around the country and it would have become a far bigger issue overall. The slaughter plants need to be regulated but removing them altogether will create its own problems imo. All of what was detailed in the program has been plain to be seen for donkey's years to anyone that wanted to find out. The vet saying that it's the worst he's seen in 45 years or whatever is talking bullshit as far as I'm concerned and there only covering there own back. There's been no effort made to alleviate any of the issues that led to this situation since the passport system was mandated which must be the guts of 20 years ago. I apologise that this has become a bit long winded.

Castlekeeper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252994#Comment_122252994

It was good to get that off your chest...

Seriously, what you're saying makes perfect sense.

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122252980#Comment_122252980

It illistrates when they havent a nice easy stick to beat you with i.e biss fines etc and have to go the court route that takes years of hassle and litigation they arent overly bothered prosecuting our doing thier duties to the book…

roosterman71

Will there be the same outrage about how the horses are treated as when the programme about the calves was out? I'd wager not as the general public, though they wouldn't want to see/hear about the issues and would be very against the treatment shown, are more connected with the horses via racing, an odd bet, etc, etc. Plus the horse business is seen as well to do (they are) and Joe Public wouldn't mind a piece of that pie. But calves being ill treated is shocking and must be stopped. The outrage is so much higher as Joe Public has no real interest in calves, nor do they give a hoot about agriculture in general and are fed a massive stream of "agriculture bad"

FintanMcluskey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122253711#Comment_122253711

Who is Joe Public?

Sheep breeder

One thing about the program the horse racing side and the more under belly side the horse dealers buying in goresbridge and fairs are dealing in sports and hobby and the coloured horses and this is the side seems to be no regulation on, a cattle dealer has to have a brass plate and export premises has to have a license and subject to annual inspections, the horse dealers seem to have freedom to change ID and get new passports, in the lairage they we’re re chipping animals and spraying legs, the dept vet or staff has answers to give today,

patsy_mccabe

I watched the programme. First thing I thought was, I wonder will Miley Cash appear on this? 😎

Why don't they genomically test the horses? I would solve everything.

kk.man

Ordered EID tags from reputable company on the phone....I wanted to send them to my local shop as I work during the day... lady point blank refused.. is this the norm for other people ordering tags?