Ireland to ramp-up ‘factory farming’ of pigs and chickens, compounding existing animal welfare problems
Ireland’s industrial farming sector has expanded rapidly on the back of controversial government plans to turn the island into a global meat and dairy supplier. If approved, up to 12 million more chickens and 55,000 more pigs would be industrially reared.
SOPHIE KEVANY: The pending approval of 36 intensive pig and poultry farms has alarmed environmental and animal rights activists. This would add millions of animals and compound existing problems with manure, ammonia and animal welfare management. Almost all of Ireland’s ammonia emissions come from animal agriculture and one of the key sources is manure.
If approved, up to 12 million more chickens and 55,000 more pigs would be industrially reared, producing a potential 53,000 cubic metres (roughly 26,000 tonnes) of excrement annually – the equivalent of 97,000 people – almost the population of Limerick city.
The figures were compiled from public documents submitted by applicants to the EPA. For poultry, animal estimates were calculated by multiplying the proposed increase by the number of flocks reared and slaughtered per year and, for pigs, the average number of piglets born per year…
The applications, still open to public objection, are pending approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They cover both enlargements of existing pig and poultry houses and new builds that would house over 40,000 poultry, 2,000 pigs or 750 sows.
EPA data shows the agency rejected only a handful of applications over the last 20 years, suggesting all the operations have a good chance of being approved. This year, 17 pig and poultry permits have already been granted…
The detrimental impact that intensive farming can have on animal welfare is well documented with a 2018 EU report finding a range of problems, while a separate study found that cutting piglets’ tails off, a practice forbidden by EU rules, is routine in Ireland.
Activists say that other welfare abuses on some farms include teeth clipping and caging of sows. Poultry risks include overcrowding in sheds and cages, leg and other bone problems as well as skin damage from ammonia in their litter.
This year, Ireland has also been hit by outbreaks of avian flu which can result in all farmed bird – including those normally reared as free-range – being confined indoors, due to government advice to reduce its transmission.
Caroline Rowley of Ethical Farming Ireland condemned the proposed increases: ‘The message the government is supposed to be giving is reduce our consumption of animal produce, not increase it. How are we going to meet our emissions reductions targets by increasing the number of farmed animals?’.
“The vast majority of birds are reared indoors,” and “with the rise of avian flu outbreaks”, even free-range birds can be confined inside barns for parts of the year. Rowley also said that many Irish pigs “endure a life of misery”. It would seem,” she added, “that getting the existing house in order would be a wiser move than permitting even more intensive factories”…
Ireland’s industrial farm sector has expanded rapidly on the back of controversial government plans to turn the island into a global meat and dairy supplier. In the last five years, numbers of EPA approved intensive pig and poultry permits have grown by 34% to 340 as of December this year. The country is now home to just over 1.6 million pigs, while over 70 million chickens are produced annually, along with four million turkeys and eggs are laid by two million hens…
One of Ireland’s leading climate scientists, John Sweeney – emeritus professor at Maynooth University – described the proposed increase in intensive pig and poultry production as “especially concerning” given that Ireland’s ammonia emissions “have been non-compliant [with EU limits] for seven out of the last nine years”.
One way to better protect human and ecosystem health from excessive ammonia, Sweeney said, was to consider limiting financial farm supports for further intensification. “The continuation of business as usual is not acceptable,” he added.
Ammonia pollution is linked to soil acidification and leaf damage, leading to plant species declines. In freshwater it can kill fish and other marine life because it encourages algae blooms, oxygen depletion and acidification, a process known as eutrophication. SOURCE…
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