Ireland is considering slaughtering around 200,000 cattle over the next three years in a bid to meet its climate and global warming targets, DPA reported, citing an internal Agriculture Department memo.
Talks are planned between dairy farmers and government officials, said Pat McCormack, president of the Irish Dairy Producers Association.
He added that the Irish government will need to show commitment and present a budget to fund this initiative. According to McCormack, such a program can only be voluntary.
The government will offer farmers financially attractive opportunities, said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Agriculture.
Ireland’s Environment Agency recently announced that the country is likely to miss its climate targets by a wide margin.
One of these targets states that emissions from the agricultural sector alone must fall by between 4 and 20 percent by 2030.
Overall, Ireland aims to reduce the country’s emissions by 30 percent compared to 2005 levels.
Illustrative Photo by Jahoo Clouseau: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cow-standing-on-grass-field-382166/
