OAN’s Roy Francis
10:10 AM – Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Ireland has presented a new proposal which includes killing 200,000 cows in order to combat climate change and meet the European Union’s climate change goals.
According to the Irish Times, the plan by the Irish government would require 65,000 cows to be culled each year for three years, reducing the Irish national dairy herd by about 10%. This plan is the top option being considered by the country’s Department of Agriculture in order to reduce emissions from farming by a quarter by the year 2030.
The country has around 2.5 million dairy and beef cows according to the Irish June Livestock Survey. Beef and dairy account for about two thirds of Ireland’s agricultural output with 90% of its produce being exported.
A spokesperson for the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine said that the plan is merely a “part of the deliberative process” and that the country has not yet decided on a final policy.
“The Paper referred to was part of a deliberative process – it is one of a number of modelling documents considered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and is not a final policy decision,” the spokesperson said. “As part of the normal work of Government Departments, various options for policy implementation are regularly considered.”
Tim Cullinan, president of the Irish Farmers’ Association, spoke with The Telegraph saying reiterating that the policy has not yet been decided on, and that part of the policy would be to shift beef production out of the country. He went on to explain that they are making the changes in order to provide a “pathway for the next generation to get into farming.”
“Reports like this only serve to further fuel the view that the government is working behind the scenes to undermine our dairy and livestock sectors,” Cullinan said. “While there may well be some farmers who wish to exit the sector, we should all be focusing on providing a pathway for the next generation to get into farming.”
The Irish Independent also reported that the plan included €5,000 (around $5,343.00) in compensation for each cow.
Critics of the plan slammed it saying that it will only end in disaster for the country.
“The Irish know about this from the potato famine,” Australian geologist Ian Plimer told Sky News. “A third of their population died, a third emigrated, and the same thing will happen. They will lose productive people from Ireland, and they’ll go somewhere else.” He added that it would “only end in disaster.”
Elon Musk also criticized the plan on Twitter by saying that “killing cows doesn’t matter for climate change,” and it “really needs to stop.”
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