Compassion in World Farming may bring a High Court action to prevent the export of live cattle from Ringaskiddy, Co Cork. A new service from there to the Continent began on Tuesday.
CIWF said yesterday it was investigating the possibility of bringing judicial review proceedings to have the Government's decision to use public money for the service overturned by the court.
Ms Mary Anne Bartlett said the use of £1 million by the Government to support the venture may be unlawful under EC competition law and contrary to EU regulations.
As the first shipment of nine lorry-loads of cattle left for the Continent on Tuesday, the impact on the price of young cattle in the marts was immediate. The price of some animals rose by as much as £80 a head as there is a big demand for the younger animals in France and the Netherlands. Demand for cattle by Northern Ireland buyers is also increasing, and between 700 and 800 animals are being taken north every week, probably for export to Britain.
A Department of Agriculture spokesman said prices for bullocks in the Republic were beginning to catch up on those in Northern Ireland, Britain and on the Continent.
He said the average price was currently 83.5p per lb in the Republic, 91p in Northern Ireland, 95p in the UK and £1 in continental Europe.
There was fresh news yesterday on the Egyptian market, where Irish exporters are hoping to have the live cattle trade reopened. It closed last December because of the BSE crisis.
The exporters have asked the Department to send a veterinary expert and an engineer to inspect a processing plant near Cairo which they have identified as a place where Irish cattle could be quarantined and processed for the Egyptian market. If the facility is approved by the Egyptian authorities, an extraction unit to remove offal and other materials which carry BSE in infected animals will be installed.
The Egyptians told the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, earlier this month that they would allow an experimental shipment of Irish cattle into the country if the animals were processed under strict supervision.
The loss of the live trade to North Africa - in 1995 it was worth over £150 million - has depressed the beef markets here since the BSE crisis. Farmers have complained that factories are operating a cartel to keep prices low.