Our dream family home is beside a dead animal dumping ground

Warning: this article contains distressing images.

When Adam Dunlop and his young family built their dream family home in the Northern Irish countryside, they never imagined that the fields around their idyll would become an illegal dumping ground for dead animals.

In a ditch on the side of a secluded country road near their house lies the rotting carcass of a large cow, as well as a number of dead sheep that have been dumped on top of each other.

Dead farm animals in bags scatter the area, a few miles outside the village of Clogher.

And there is a significant amount of general waste that includes everything from burnt tyres to mattresses and old kitchen appliances.

"It's the smell that hits you first, then I saw the dead cow, and it made me sick to my stomach," Dunlop said.

He added: "I'm very concerned, because I've a six-month-old daughter and we can't even take her for a walk up the road now because of this issue.

"We wanted to live here because it's a lovely part of the countryside, and it's a shame on the people who are illegally dumping here, it's not on."

A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said it was "concerned to learn of the cases reported" and that "an active investigation" was being undertaken.

In Northern Ireland, responsibility for the recovery and disposal of fallen livestock lies with the animal owner if that can be established or, if not, then the owner of the land on which the carcass is located.

On public land or highways, responsibility for disposal rests with the local council, if ownership cannot be determined.

Daera confirmed it has been unable to determine the current owner of the land.

A spokesperson for Fermanagh and Omagh Council said: "As the investigation is ongoing, no further comment can be made at this stage."

These are not the only animal carcasses that have been illegally dumped in rural parts of County Tyrone.

Since then, more animal dumping incidents have been reported to authorities in the Clogher Valley area.

Ryan Thompson is a neighbour of the Dunlops and lives close to the animal dumping ground.

He said: "It's affecting the environment and everyone that lives around here, and it's been raised with the local authorities, but the animals are still there.

"What I find particularly worrying is we don't know how or why these animals died, and the tags have been taken off so it's difficult to track down the owner."

Thompson said illegal dumping had been ongoing in the area for years, but that activity had increased recently.

"The animal carcasses element is more recent, and it's never been at this scale," he said.

"There seems to be a lot of this around Tyrone at the minute, I'm not sure if it's because it's such a rural area and there's a belief it can be done unnoticed, but it can't go on."

Figures obtained by BBC News NI show that there were more than 3,400 waste dumping incidents across Northern Ireland between 2020 to 2025. This includes the dumping of construction waste, car tyres and asbestos.

More than 150 incidents related to animal dumping, with the majority occurring in the Mid Ulster and Fermanagh and Omagh council areas.

A spokesperson for Mid Ulster Council said the dumping of animal carcasses was "completely unacceptable".

Meanwhile in a statement Fermanagh and Omagh Council said such dumping incidents could have "detrimental impacts on our natural environment and biodiversity and increases the risk of water pollution".

Within the last week it has also emerged that another sheep carcass has been dumped in a roadside field near a GAA club in Augher, near Clogher.

Kevin McElvogue is an independent councillor for the area.

He said: "Almost every week now I'm hearing about illegal dumping and a lot of the time now it involves animal remains.

"Whoever is doing this has no respect for not only these poor animals, but also for the environment and the local community who have to live here."

McElvogue added: "I think one aspect of this that particularly worries people is that we don't know how these animals died - was it natural causes, disease or something else?"

A spokesperson for Daera said: "Animal by-products are a potential source of risk to public and animal health. Farmers have a legal obligation to dispose of animals in a safe and sustainable manner."

BBC News NI contacted the Ulster Farmers Union for a comment, but did not receive a response.

Wider animal welfare concerns have also been raised in County Tyrone in recent weeks.

In March a horse had to be put down after it was found having seizures in a muddy field outside Dungannon.

Two more dead horses were also found near a wet ditch at the back of the field.

It comes as new figures show the scale of animal welfare issues in Northern Ireland.

Daera is responsible for the welfare of farmed animals whereas councils are responsible for the welfare of domestic pets in Northern Ireland, including horses.

The latest published figures from authorities show that between 2022 and 2024 there were 1,128 animals seized in Northern Ireland because of welfare concerns.

Figures obtained by BBC News NI also show that during the past five years there were 262 convictions at court in Northern Ireland for animal welfare or cruelty offences.

Almost 75% of the convictions related to male offenders.