The Stormont whistleblower Dr Tamara Bronckaers who raised concerns about animal welfare and meat traceability has been awarded a 1.25 million payout. Photograph: McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors/PA Wire
A Stormont whistleblower who raised concerns about animal welfare and meat traceability has been awarded a 1.25 million payout.
Senior vet Dr Tamara Bronckaers has received an unreserved apology from Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) after a tribunal last year found she was constructively dismissed from her job.
Her lawyers have described the payment as the largest of its kind ever awarded in Northern Ireland.
Dr Bronckaers, who worked for the department’s Veterinary Service Animal Health Group, had raised concerns about serious breaches of animal welfare legislation and traceability within the meat supply chain related to the deletion of records on the movement of sold cattle between farms.
She resigned after claiming management ignored her concerns and subjected her to unfair treatment for flagging the issues.
Dr Bronckaers said: “The past few years have been extremely harrowing for me and my family.
“This outcome has been a long time coming and I can move on in the knowledge that I did what was right, and I now have a long-waited and justified apology from the department.
“I witnessed first-hand animals suffering unnecessarily and believe that over a...
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