A joint Garda/Department of Agriculture investigation was launched yesterday into the death of 60 cattle on a farm in north Cork.
The remaining 115 animals on the farm at Shanballymore, Doneraile, were being fed and cared for locally yesterday.
The grim discovery was made on Tuesday evening, when the owner of the farm called to the local Garda station to report the matter.
Insp Flor Horan said gardaí who went to the farm found 60 dead cattle and 115 which were alive.
The animals, made up of older cows, dry cattle and calves, appeared to have died over a period of time.
Department of Agriculture officials who were called to the scene began a clean-up of the area, and veterinary inspectors began an investigation to determine the cause of death.
Late last evening sources close to the investigation said no evidence of disease had been found, and a nutritional deficiency appeared to be the cause of death.
A spokesman at the department's headquarters in Dublin said it had been established there was no risk to public or animal health as a result of the incident.
The remains of the dead animals were collected yesterday, and taken by truck for destruction to a rendering plant in Waterford. The remaining animals, most of which appeared to be in reasonable condition, were being fed on the farm or on neighbouring farms as the investigation continued.
Insp Horan stressed that the farmer who owned the property was fully co-operating with the investigation, which could take some weeks to complete. The investigation would involve both the Garda and the Department of Agriculture and Food and if charges were to be brought they would be taken under the 1911 Cruelty to Animals Act.
The Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council is understood to be taking an interest in the case, one of the worst of its kind since the advisory group was set up last year.