Dungannon farmer ordered to cull 150,000 chickens over illegal antibiotics

A TYRONE chicken farmer who had to cull more than 150,000 of his birds after importing an illegal Chinese antibiotic has received a suspended jail sentence.

Paul Lawrence Scott Hobson (60), of Mullybrannon Road, Dungannon, imported an unauthorised veterinary medicinal product, namely Amoxicillin – a penicillin-based antibiotic.

He admitted charges of importing the unauthorised product between July 15 and August 2, 2019, attempting to import similar products between July 1 and October 31, 2019 and obstructing the veterinary medicines regulations by deleting emails regarding the purchases of the illegal products.

At Dungannon Crown Court he was sentenced to nine months in jail, suspended for three years.

Hobson had been one of Moy Park’s biggest suppliers, however the company has cut all ties with him. Moy Park immediately took steps to ensure that poultry from Hobson’s farm was not sent for human consumption after suspicion of the offences came to light.

Antibiotics can be used for animal welfare reasons but are strictly regulated and should only be prescribed by a vet. They can also be used as a growth promoter to reduce the amount of feed it takes to get a bird to slaughter weight.

But the court was told that Amoxicillin can be a risk to the general public if it gets into the food chain.

Hobson did not receive any of the products therefore none was administered to the chickens. However, as a result of the investigation, 155,000 chickens were culled.

Judge Irvine QC acknowledged that there was no evidence that Amoxicillan was on the defendant’s property and the chickens had not entered the food chain.

He gave the defendant credit for admitting the offences thereby saving court time and expense during a pandemic.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said the investigation was being led by the Department of Health’s Medicines Regulatory Group.

The seizure of the antibiotics was first reported by the Guardian newspaper. In 2019 the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health jointly launched a five-year plan to tackle the issue of anti-microbial resistance.

Peter Moore, Senior Medicines Enforcement Officer with the Department of Health, who directed the investigation said, “This conviction sends a clear message that there are serious consequences if a person attempts to by-pass the regulated system and controls which are in place to ensure public safety and integrity of the food chain. Members of the public could have been endangered as a result of this unlawful activity.

“The public, however, can have confidence that the Medicines Regulatory Group and its statutory partner agencies, locally and nationally, will take decisive action to prevent and detect those operating in this manner.”

Canice Ward, Head of the Department’s Medicines Regulatory Group added, “This was among the largest quantity of unlicensed prescription veterinary antibiotics to be seized in Northern Ireland. The offender in this case acted in a reckless manner by importing products without being able to confirm their actual content, whether they were effective, if they would cause harm to animals or humans, or had been manufactured, stored or transported under correct conditions. He also ran the risk of potentially harmful drug residues appearing in foodstuffs derived from food producing animals and causing significant risk to human health.”

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most serious threats to health. The Department encourages the responsible use of antimicrobials, particularly antibiotics, in human and veterinary medicine, in food producing animals and in pets. The spread of antimicrobial resistance in the environment is also of increasing concern.

The emergence and spread of drug-resistant bugs is driven by over-use and inappropriate use of antibiotics in both humans and animals.

Antimicrobial resistance to veterinary medicines not only affects human and animal health and welfare, but could also severely affect the agricultural industry as a whole through its potential impact on trade.