12/08/2026 Controversial cattle cull, impact of drought on fish stocks, salads.

Feelings are running high amongst farmers in Northern Ireland over a cull of 51 cattle that took place back in June. The cull was carried out in County Tyrone by a Humane Slaughter Team deployed by the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs. The government said it wasa final resort after a court order directed that the farmer they belonged to should be ‘deprived of the ownership of all farmed animals’ because of a previous animal welfare conviction. The cull has proved extremely controversial. It’s claimed it was visible to members of the public and some question why the animals had to be killed at all. Hundreds of farmers protested outside Stormont, home of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Daera minister has now ordered an investigation into how it was handled.

Rain has been in short supply this summer with the driest July ever recorded in both England and Wales. Some rivers are flowing at exceptionally low levels. Shallower rivers heat up more quickly and the water temperature in some rivers is far higher than usual which can be disastrous for fish and other aquatic life. There’ve been reports of several incidents of fish deaths. We ask the Angling Trust how bad the situation is.

All week we’re looking into commercial salad production. We speak to a big producer in Worcestershire about how they manage water to irrigate their crops in huge glasshouses in the Vale of Evesham.

Presenter = Caz Graham

Producer = Rebecca Rooney