The new junior agriculture minister has said culling the national herd cannot be ruled out if Ireland does not meet its carbon emissions targets. The Green Party wanted the programme for government to include a commitment to cull the national herd in five years' time if farming emissions reduction targets were not met. Now senator Pippa Hackett, who was appointed a Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture last weekend, has said culling the herd could not be ruled out "as a last resort" if the sector fails to reduce emissions. In a detailed policy paper presented at the government negotiations, the Greens stated: "A specific herd reduction may be required should we fail to transition to a farming model which reduces emissions by 2025. Hackett, who sits at Cabinet, told the Sunday Independent last month that culling the herd could not be ruled out "as a last resort" if the sector fails to reduce its emissions.

Source: Irish Independent July 05, 2020 01:30 UTC