SOURCE ET SUITE
LA POLLUTION DUE AUX ÉLEVAGES INTENSIFS DE PLUS EN PLUS DE RAPPORTS INQUIÉTANTS
IL SERAIT TEMPS DE RÉAGIR NON????
Serious pollution incidents in the UK from livestock farms are now a weekly occurrence, leading to damage to wildlife, fish, farm livestock and air and water pollution.
The Environment Agency in England and its devolved counterparts in Wales and Scotland recorded 536 of the most severe incidents between 2010 and 2016, the worst instances among more than 5,300 cases of agricultural pollution in the period across Britain. In England and Wales the figures relate to pig, poultry and dairy farms whereas in Scotland they refer to all livestock farms.
An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Guardian, uncovering the unpublished figures, also reveals that even serious pollution incidents may not be prosecuted, and farms that have caused pollution continue to receive subsidies.
There is no official estimate of the cost of the damage caused, or the cost of cleanups, but many farmers appear to be struggling with the price of preventing pollution, a situation that may deteriorate as farm incomes are threatened by the turmoil of Brexit. In many cases the breaches are likely to be the result of underinvestment in equipment such as slurry stores.
There is also evidence that some farmers may be ignoring pollution risks and regard the fines incurred if caught as a cost of doing business. One exasperated inspector noted in a log following farm inspections that the culprits were “leading criminal lifestyles”.
The investigation found:
- The pollution of waterways and land by slurry, the inappropriate burial of carcasses, and the emission of noxious fumes.
- The majority of cases involve dairy farms, chiefly for leaks and spills of slurry that can kill fish and pollute land.
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