Dealer pocketed farmer's payment for bullock he transported.

No. They go into his herd, a dealer herd number, he'll probably sell them onto someone else

Yes the dealer moves the animal from my herd like a mart does. I think he needs the card to do this

This is probably what the dealer did with your man's bullock

Tanko said it was killed in the dealer's name

Maybe Tanko can confirm the animal was transferred from the farmer's herd before slaughter as it's very common for dealers to get animals killed in the farmers name and the dealer been sent the cheque.

The owner can only make a permit, the animal can only be moved from the herd it’s in and accepted by the buyer into his herd. Anything else is fraud.

id be contacting the relevant Dvo, and finding out the movement/payment of animals

happened with out owners permission. Douth processor/vet on duty or dealer want Dvo sniffing around their herd no.s

No that is not what I said. I said a DAFM approved export company facility can move animals into different herds the same as marts can. The dealer that is buying the calves from you is either working on commission for the export company in which case the export company pays you direct or else he is buying them from you and paying you and he sells them to the export company. Either way they do not enter his herd but go straight to the export companies special herd number as which point they can either export them if suitable or sell them to another farmer within the state which isn't that unusual.

Edit to add - a dealer number is just basically a herd number that allows the movement of over 100 animals in a three month period without drawing a cross compliance inspection. It does NOT allow them to work outside the normal AIMS certificate of compliance rules.

No need to report any animal as stolen. It wasn't stolen. The animal was sent to the processor and the processor hasn't paid for it. So the processor owes the owner for it. That they decided to give some free money to a dealer is a separate matter. The dealer might have held himself out to be some kind of agent for the owner, but that is between the factory and the dealer.

From the factory's perspective, it's probably not the dealer's first time sending to them, nor the last time. So they should have no bother recovering their money. But that is of no concern to the owner.

Either a solicitor's letter or just go to the Small Claims Court.

The factory could claim they bought the animal in good faith so they didn't do anything "wrong". I don't know how well that excuse would fly given the animal was still registered. The keeper of the herd does not have to be the owner. If they did indeed accept an item in good faith, then the default would be that the item in question is returned, but obviously that can't be done after being killed. Technically the legal title to the animal would not have been handed over to the dealer even though the animal was handed over. There would have been no consideration for that transaction. You can have scenarios though in theory where you hand an item to a scammer, who then sells it on, and the third party can "keep" the item even though you aren't paid for it.

Get your friend to contact the one in his area. I'd be very surprised if they didn't get it sorted.

https://www.ifa.ie/sector-committees/cattle-committee/

IFA have a helpline for legal issues as well I think. Never contacted them but it's in the member booklet.

https://www.ifa.ie/legal-advice/

The mart can’t put a animal through the mart system unless the animal is shown to have gone through the mart only on license day. One mart manager was doing middle man between cattle on the land and feed lot owners and charging a fee to weight the cattle and put them through the cams, the mart was pulled up for doing it on days he shouldn’t have used the cmms and license was suspended for the mart.

It's theft. Plain and plain and simple.

Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001

6.—(1) A person who dishonestly, with the intention of making a gain for himself or herself or another, or of causing loss to another, by any deception induces another to do or refrain from doing an act is guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

I would put it in writing to the dealer that it would appear the factory has paid them the sum of €1500 for your animal and request them to forward the payment to you.

If no payment is received follow up with a solicitors letter, looking for the €1500 plus the cost of the solicitors letter.

In the solicitor's letter mention that if payment is not received their client will have no option but to report the theft, under section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.

If it comes to it, do report it to the gadaí. Going in with the knowledge that it is an offense under section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 makes it less likely to be told it's a 'civil matter'.