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The agriculture minister has claimed there was "no reasonable alternative" to euthanising 51 cattle who were shot dead in a field in County Tyrone at the end of June.
The incident attracted widespread criticism after claims emerged that some of the cattle had been culled by Department of Agriculture staff in view of some members of the public in a field near Fivemiletown.
In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the agriculture minister said it was "generally preferable" for the animals to be removed from the premises and euthanised remotely.
But Andrew Muir added that in this case it was the assessment of veterinary staff that "this option was simply not possible".
The minister said they used the most suitable areas within the field to "minimise exposure to public view".
Politicians from the Clogher Valley area had previously spoken out about accounts from the public and neighbours who said they were distressed after witnessing some of the cattle being culled.
The Department of Agriculture previously outlined that it was carrying out a court order following a previous animal welfare conviction of the cattle owner.
A spokesperson for Daera said the court directed that the defendant be deprived of the ownership of all farmed animals and ordered their destruction.
In an urgent written statement to the assembly on Thursday, the minister outlined further details on the circumstances surrounding the incident that he said had been provided to him by his officials who attended.
Warning: This article contains images of dead animals that some may find distressing
Muir outlined that the original herd owner had been given three weeks to sell or dispose of the animals following his conviction.
He said that when his staff arrived at the farm, 51 cattle remained and that his staff were "unfortunately left with no reasonable alternative to comply with the court order, other than to euthanise the animals".
The minister added: "Euthanising the animals remotely was not possible due to the lack of suitable, safe facilities on farm to gather up and contain animals to protect both the animals and staff; the temperament of the animals; the additional stress of handling and suitability of the animals for transport e.g. some of the cattle were horned; and the reality that it was simply not possible to transport all of the animals away from the location."
The statement also confirmed that 50 of the cattle were euthanised on 29 June with one animal euthanised by the team the next morning.
The animal carcasses were collected on the morning of the 30 June at "the department's expense".
