Ireland would need to cull up to 1.3 million cattle to reach climate targets

With more than a third of the country's greenhouse gases coming from farming, Dublin faces huge pressure over reduction aims

Up to 1.3 million cattle would have to be culled in Ireland to reach anticipated government targets for reducing greenhouse gases in the agriculture sector, a new report has concluded.

Irish farmers are expecting the worst after taoiseach Micheal Martin described the report by KPMG, commissioned by weekly newspaper the Irish Farmers Journal, as scaremongering".

The debate over agriculture's role in reducing carbon emissions is a hugely controversial topic in Ireland, pitting Dublin against rural communities.