Carcasses removed from dump site

Workers from Moy Park removed the carcasses

By Martin Cassidy
Rural affairs correspondent

More than 100 chicken carcasses have been removed from an illegal dump in County Tyrone.

Staff from Moy Park, Northern Ireland's biggest poultry company, carried out the clear-up after the discovery of carcasses strewn across the dump.

Documentation at the site appeared to come from a Moy Park poultry farm.

Moy Park said it was appalled by the illegal dumping and threatened to terminate all links with any farmer who is found to be involved.

Wearing protective suits and gloves, the Moy Park staff filled plastic bags with the rotting carcases and then hauled them up on to a bridge over a small stream.

The bags were then loaded on to a lorry and taken away for incineration.

Local people originally thought the carcasses were turkeys, but closer inspection suggests they were old breeding stock.

The birds have the appearance of scrawny old chickens, with no commercial value.

People in the locality say the stream is one of the head waters for the River Foyle and that at one time salmon used to spawn in the pools just below what is now the illegal dump.

Residents said they were relieved the chicken carcasses had been removed and called on the authorities to remove the tonnes of remaining household waste which is continuing to pollute the stream.