Cork farmer allowed pigs eat each other alive

A pig producer has pleaded guilty to animal welfare offences including causing suffering to his pigs by failing to treat or euthanise them after they were cannibalised on his farm.

Rory O’Brien pleaded guilty to five charges including that he failed to prevent unnecessary suffering by failing to treat or euthanise some animals which were eaten alive by others.

Mr O’Brien of Killicane, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, had initially pleaded not guilty to a total of 32 charges arising from an investigation by officials from the Dept of Agriculture.

He and his wife, Monica O’Brien had each been charged with 32 offences while their farm manager, Seamus Curran had been charged with 24 offences on after the investigation.

A millionaire pig farmer was sentenced to seven days in jail yesterday for assaulting a neighbour who objected to a planned piggery development.

But father of five Rory O'Brien (47) from Killicane, Mitchelstown, Co Cork escaped spending Christmas behind bars when he was given leave to appeal the severity of the sentence.

O'Brien was handed down the jail term after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Patrick Mullins on June 2 last in the gent's toilet of Mitchelstown Golf Club.