There have been calls for the Agriculture Minister, Andrew Muir, to resign<\/p>\n
The Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir has said "the days of the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) dictating government policy are over".<\/p>\n
It comes after the UFU extended a vote of no confidence in the department to include the minister, the permanent secretary and the chief vet, over how a cull of 51 cattle was carried out in County Tyrone.<\/p>\n
The cows were shot in June, leading to complaints about the manner of the cull which was carried out within earshot of members of the public.<\/p>\n
The UFU President John McLenaghan had said there were concerns about the independence of a Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) review into the incident.<\/p>\n
Muir said he would continue to engage with the UFU and had spoken with its president on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
He added that the situation he had inherited in the department was "extremely challenging", with issues building up "due to wrong government policy previously".<\/p>\n
He said he was "arguably the first minister in the history of this state that is not beholden to one vested interest".<\/p>\n
Muir described some of the speeches at a protest outside Stormont on Monday as "pure electioneering" and called on his fellow politicians to "calm it down".<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Muir said a death threat had been made against him. He also received one in June.<\/p>\n
On Friday, he said "the police will be coming looking" for those who threatened or abused anyone in public life.<\/p>\n
In a statement to BBC News NI, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it does "not discuss the security of individuals and no inference should be drawn from this".<\/p>\n
"However, we will continue to do all we can to ensure that all of our politicians are supported and that they can undertake their role free from fear and intimidation," Insp Roberts said.<\/p>\n
The UFU also called for Daera's Permanent Secretary Katrina Godfrey and the Chief Veterinary Officer Brian Dooher to resign.<\/p>\n
In response, the senior civil servants' union the FDA said it was "entirely inappropriate" to call for the resignation of officials who were "duty-bound to serve ministers" and "could not defend themselves publicly".<\/p>\n