Trillick man may lose farm after possessing illegal vet medicines

A FORMER senior inspector for the Department of Agriculture, Environmental and Rural Affairs (DAERA) from Trillick faces losing his family farm after his conviction for illegal possession of prescription-only veterinary medicines.

Appearing before Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Andrew McCutcheon, from Bodoney Road, was ordered to do 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to the offences.

But defence counsel, Joe McCann, told the court that the costs involved in the case could lead to the defendant having to sell the family farm.

McCutcheon, who was employed as a DAERA Group 1 inspector, was found to have illegally obtained Marbocyl, Boflox and Hymatil tilmicosin on July 18, 2021, and also failed to keep veterinary records between January 2016 and December 2021.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident on August 10, 2022, McCutcheon was found to have Metacam and Alamycin without prescription.

In mitigation, defence counsel Mr McCann reminded the court that the 49-year-old had no previous record prior to these incidents, and had cooperated fully with probation services since his last hearing in October.

It was suggested that McCutcheon could serve a community service order in a range between 40 to 240 hours as an alternative sentence to imprisonment.

This suggestion was taken onboard by Deputy District Judge, Peter Prenter, who gave credit in consideration of the financial suffering the Trillick farmer had endured.

The judge told McCutcheon, “These are serious offences, but I accept there was no commercial element on your part.

“However, I must mark the seriousness of these offences.”

After the sentencing, a spokesperson for the Department of Health (DoH) said that details of more than 50 veterinary prescriptions in respect of almost 500 bottles of veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, were not recorded in veterinary record books kept by McCutcheon over a six-year period.

‘RECKLESS’

Canice Ward, head of the Department of Health’s Medicines Regulatory Group, said, “The reckless use of veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, in this manner could have serious consequences for human and animal health, increase the risk of harmful residues in the food chain, and raise the prospect of antimicrobial resistance.

“The public can have confidence that the Department’s Medicines Regulatory Group and its statutory partner agencies will take decisive action to prevent and detect those engaged in unlawful use of medicines.”