Trillick DAERA inspector admits illegally possessing vet medicine

A SENIOR inspector for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) from Trillick has admitted charges of illegally possessing prescription-only veterinary medicine.

Andrew McCutcheon (pictured), of Badoney Road, who is currently suspended from his public sector role, is a well-known face at agricultural shows and won a slew of medals for his sheep at this year’s Balmoral show.

While the 49-year-old initially denied the charges against him, he entered guilty pleas at Omagh Magistrates Court today.

The DAERA inspector admitted to having three prescription veterinary medicines (Marbocyl, Boflox and Hymatil Tilmicosin) with the additional charge of failing to keep medicine records between 2016 and 2021.

The court heard that, on June 18, 2021, officers from the police, DAERA and medicine regulation investigators attended McCutcheon’s farm and recovered 18 bottles which had no corresponding records or partial entries.

The search arose from an investigation into a suspected breach of veterinary medicines regulations.

In the search, an additional bottle was recovered, which McCutcheon noted he bought from ‘a boy on the street’.

A further 57 bottles of prescription medicine were not recorded in the farmer’s log over six years.

Upon discovery of medicine in McCutcheon’s car, he told a DAERA officer, “You know the way it works; paperwork will arrive a week later.”

More medicine was found in a separate vehicle on the property and, during the search, an officer observed the defendant trying to hide further medicine bottles.

In a later interview with DAERA, McCutcheon was present with a solicitor and provided no explanation or comment to any questions.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident in 2022, McCutcheon was stopped at Larne Harbour and asked to unload his livestock trailer.

The defendant was asked if he had any veterinary medicine in his vehicle which he denied.

The officers searched the truck and located a box which held two bottles of veterinary medicine, one of which had already been opened.

The search prompted McCutcheon to get annoyed, and he told the DAERA officers to “go out and catch the real people selling drugs and stop harassing me and my sheep”.

When asked if he had any prescriptions for the found medicine, McCutcheon said, “You have all my records for the last two years. I’m not telling you. You f***ing find out.”

In dealing with the case, District Judge Bernie Kelly cited the seriousness to “animal welfare and the human food chain”.

“We can’t have non-medically qualified people prescribing medicines for animals,” the judge said.

“Vets have to keep records, and all animals are recorded from birth to death.”

She said, “Every time a vet prescribes something, that’s also recorded.”

Mrs Kelly added, “If that’s not done, we have no way of knowing what’s happening.”

Adjourning sentencing until a later date, District Judge Bernie Kelly decided that a pre-sentence report was needed.

The judge said, “Not only was the defendant a farmer, but he was also a DAERA inspector. His behaviour towards another inspector at the port was particularly egregious, despite being already aware he was under investigation for this type of offending.”