IRISH CHARITY BÓTHAR, which airlifts Irish livestock to developing countries around the world, has said its work remains environmentally sustainable. 

The charity has increasingly turned to artificial insemination to reduce the need to fly cows and goats to other countries. 

The charity flies high-yield animals from Ireland to countries where local animals are unable to sustain families and communities. 

Over the last 28 years, the charity has flown animals to a range of states, including Kenya, Ghana and Nepal. 

In 2016, 40 dairy cows, 260 pigs, 200 goats and 1,000 chicks were sent to Rwanda by the charity on a single flight. 

In 2008, the charity said that it was considering sending cow, goat and pig embryos instead of live animals due to the cost of airlifting livestock. 

A spokesperson for the charity said it was no longer considering this as an option. 

“Artificial insemination was a much more viable option for use in countries we work in where yields of local animals are such that there’s a need to fly out quality Irish cows and goats,” he said. 

This year, the charity sent 20,000 artificial insemination (AI) straws from Ireland to projects in Rwanda, Kosovo, Romania and Malawi. 

“For countries that we fly animals to, we have been operating AI programmes since the very beginning of our operations there. We send cows and goats out in the first instance but the AI programme that follows-up is where the real multiplier effect is,” the spokesperson said. 

“Ultimately, Bóthar’s is an extremely sustainable model,” a spokesperson said. 

“For projects we see it as necessary to fly Irish animals out, the safest and most efficient way to transport these valuable animals is by air and Bóthar uses airlines with the strongest green credentials,” he added. 

The charity, which is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, said that it engages in a range of sustainable programmes including obliging farmers to plant two trees for every cow donated as well as installing anaerobic digestors to convert methane from manure into gas that can be used for cooking. 

“Ultimately, the most sustainable aspect to our programme, we feel, is how the gift of a cow or a goat enables families that were otherwise in a daily struggle for survival to become fully self-sustainable,” the spokesperson said. 

If you want more information about Bóthar, you can read about it here.