Guardian investigation: UK has nearly 800 livestock mega farms

Tue Jul 18 13:00:22 BST 2017

The march of US-style mega farms  defined in the 
US as facilities housing 125,000 broiler 
chickens, 82,000 laying hens, 2,500 pigs, 700 
dairy or 1,000 beef cattle  has been revealed in 
an investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

>Subject: Grauniad: 'UK has nearly 800 livestock 
>mega farms, investigation reveals'
>From: Paul Mobbs
>Organization: Mobbs' Environmental Investigations
>Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2017 15:44:37 +0100
>
>
>Gruesome! Glad I don't eat any of this stuff :-(
>
>After Brexit, stopping the acceleration of mega-farms is going to
>become a major issue -- especially as ideological government policies
>try to promote foreign trade from "UK plc".
>
>If you treat animals like this as a matter of policy, in the end this
>is how a disconnected state will end-up treating 
>its people. [it already is, ed.]
>
>Sorry to disappoint you Theresa... I've never sold any shares in me,
>and never will! :-p
>
>
><https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/17/uk-has-nearly-800-livestock-mega-farms-investigation-reveals>
>
>UK has nearly 800 livestock mega farms, investigation reveals
>
>Andrew Wasley, Fiona Harvey, Madlen Davies and David Child,
>Guardian On-line, Monday 17th July 2017
>
>
>Nearly every county in England has at least one industrial-scale
>livestock farm, with close to 800 US-style mega farms operating across
>the UK, new research reveals.
>
>The increase in mega farms  which critics describe as âcruel and
>unnecessaryâ  is part of a 26% rise in intensive factory farming in
>six years, a shift that is transforming the British countryside.
>'Close to the sheds, the smell is overpowering': inside a UK mega farm
>Read more
>
>Only 12 counties in the UK now host no pig or poultry farms classified
>as intensive by the Environment Agency. To be classed as intensive, a
>farm must have warehouses with more than 40,000 birds, 2,000 pigs or
>750 cows.
>
>{SNIP}
>
>
>--
>
>"I think that the poorest he that is in England hath a life toÂ
>live, as the greatest he; and therefore truly, Sir, I thinkÂ
>it's clear, that every man that is to live under a governmentÂ
>ought first by his own consent to put himself under thatÂ
>government; and I do think that the poorest man in England isÂ
>not bound in a strict sense to that government that he hath notÂ
>had a voice to put himself under."
>Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 
>Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Thomas Rainsborough, 1647)
>
>Paul Mobbs, Mobbs' Environmental InvestigationsÂ
>3 Grosvenor Road, Banbury OX16 5HN, EnglandÂ
>tel./fax (+44/0)1295 261864
>
>web-- http://www.fraw.org.uk/mei/
>FB -- https://www.facebook.com/ramblinactivist
>TW -- https://twitter.com/ramblinactivist
>
>public key -- http://www.fraw.org.uk/mei/public_key_2016.asc
>
>Not sent from my mobile device -- I don't have one! ;-)

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  Farming
  UK has nearly 800 livestock mega farms, investigation reveals

Exclusive: US-style intensive factory farming of 
poultry, pigs and cattle is sweeping across the 
British countryside  raising concerns over animal cruelty
How have you been affected?
  Inside a mega farm in Kington, Herefordshire, 
England. Photograph: Rob Stothard

Andrew Wasley, Fiona Harvey, Madlen Davies and David Child
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/17/uk-has-nearly-800-livestock-mega-farms-investigation-reveals
  Monday 17 July 2017 15.07 BST

Nearly every county in England has at least one 
industrial-scale livestock farm, with close to 
800 US-style mega farms operating across the UK, new research reveals.

The increase in mega farms  which critics 
describe as cruel and unnecessary  is part of 
a 26% rise in intensive factory farming in six 
years, a shift that is transforming the British countryside.

Only 12 counties in the UK now host no pig or 
poultry farms classified as intensive by the 
Environment Agency. To be classed as intensive, a 
farm must have warehouses with more than 40,000 birds, 2,000 pigs or

Herefordshire has more than 16 million 
factory-farmed animals, mainly poultry  which 
means the county has 88 times more factory-farmed 
animals than it does humans. Shropshire and 
Norfolk follow closely, with more than 15 million 
and 12 million animals respectively. Nearly every 
county in England and Northern Ireland has at 
least one mega farm, and they are also scattered across Scotland and Wales.

The march of US-style mega farms  defined in the 
US as facilities housing 125,000 broiler 
chickens, 82,000 laying hens, 2,500 pigs, 700 
dairy or 1,000 beef cattle  has been revealed in 
an investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Most of these farms have gone unnoticed, despite 
their size and the controversy surrounding them, 
in part because many farmers have expanded 
existing facilities rather than seeking new sites.

Mega farms and industrial-scale farms (that count 
as intensive, but not mega under the US 
definition) have previously attracted attention 
because of concerns raised by local residents, 
over smells, noise and the potential for 
pollution or disease outbreaks, and by animal 
welfare campaigners, who argue that factory-style 
farming in which livestock are rarely or never 
permitted outdoors prevents animals from 
expressing their natural behaviour. They also 
worry that mega farms are pushing smaller farmers 
out of business, leading to the takeover of the 
countryside by large agribusinesses, with the 
loss of traditional family-run units.

Their defenders say that the close controls on 
industrial-scale farms mean that disease, 
pollution and the carbon footprint can be kept to 
a minimum. Such farms also produce for consumers 
at a lower cost than small-scale farms.

The government does not collate central 
statistics on mega farms, for which there is no 
recognised definition under British regulations, 
but farms classified as intensive need permits. 
Freedom of information requests and database 
searches have revealed 789 farms meeting the US 
mega farm (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) definition.

Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), the pressure 
group, has compiled a map showing hotspots in 
areas such as Herefordshire and Shropshire, East Anglia and Northern Ireland.

Poultry farms tend to be biggest, with seven out 
of the 10 largest housing more than 1 million 
birds, and the biggest two capable of holding 1.7 
million and 1.4 million birds. The biggest pig 
farm found holds about 23,000 pigs, while the 
biggest cattle farm, in Lincolnshire, houses about 3,000 animals.

Proposals for greenfield mega farms have received 
a rough ride from the public in recent years. One 
in Nocton, Lincolnshire, that would have housed 
more than 8,000 cows, had to be abandoned after 
local opposition. Another in Foston, Derbyshire, 
for more than 24,500 pigs was successfully derailed after protests.

For this reason, and for reasons of cost and 
efficiency, many farmers and large food companies 
have chosen to expand existing facilities, going 
under the radar of local opposition.

Emma Slawinski, director of campaigns at CIWF, 
the pressure group which created the hotspot map, 
said: There is a worrying trend towards 
intensive farming. Bringing animals off the land 
and cramming them into squalid, inhumane factory 
farms is not only cruel to animals but also has 
far-reaching effects on human health, wildlife 
and the planet. Moving animals away from the 
countryside into cages and crowded sheds may seem 
like a space-saving idea, but this ignores the 
fact that vast amounts of land are used elsewhere to grow feed for them.

She said animals are kept in often barren, 
overcrowded and frequently filthy conditions 
despite enough land available to keep them in a 
natural environment. North Yorkshire has the 
highest number of indoor-reared pigs, with over 
220,000 of them confined to the inside, unable to 
forage and explore. This is cruel and unnecessary 
when we can simply bring the animals outside and rear them on the land.

However, independent farming experts and industry 
organisations argue that intensive farming 
doesnt hinder animal welfare, and provides 
cheaper food for consumers. Charles Godfray, 
director of the Oxford Martin Programme on the 
Future of Food, said it was not possible to judge 
the welfare of animals based on the size of 
farms. Its much more about how you do it, he 
said. There are intensive operations which are 
horrible, and others which are good examples of 
how to look after animals well and get good outcomes.

Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British 
Poultry Council, said birds reared on intensive 
farms enjoyed good standards. These are high 
health and welfare farms. The husbandry of the 
birds is the crucial element here  I think 
people think of hens roaming around a farm, but 
that image is no longer the case. Thats not how chicken is farmed any more.

He added that pressure from consumers meant it 
was impractical to keep birds in free range or 
organic conditions for general consumption. Last 
year, we grew almost a billion birds, 95% indoors 
and 3.4% free range and 1% organic. If we tried 
to grow a billion birds a year organically, that 
would be a lot of land. Its a balancing act, and 
its demand-driven. I dont think well see a 
change in systems without consumer demand. At the 
moment, that demand isnt there.

Christine Nicol, professor of veterinary science 
at the University of Bristol, said the size of a 
farm was less important than the way animals were 
looked after, as livestock on small farms could 
suffer from neglect or poor conditions, 
particularly in winter. However, she added: 
Generally, there is good evidence that very 
intensive forms of production do seriously 
constrain internally-motivated behaviours, 
particularly comfort movements such as 
stretching, grooming, netsing. That is either 
because not enough space is provided or 
insufficient resources are provided. Most animals 
need quiet resting areas separate from busy 
areas. These are not always provided, or are insufficient.

It is not necessarily the case that outdoor 
access is needed to allow these behaviours. 
Spacious, protected, semi-indoor areas with 
natural light can often be better as they allow 
for the important behaviours while keeping 
disease risks low. More work needs to be done and 
much greater incentives offered [to farmers] to 
encourage improvement, and better public understanding is needed too.

Zoe Davies, chief executive of the National Pig 
Association, said bigger farms allowed for better 
care of animals: These larger units have more 
dedicated people  pig units will have specialist 
vets. There arent as many producers that farm 
pigs outdoors because theres not a huge demand. 
The majority are trying to compete with everyone 
else and their European counterparts. Theres such intense competition.

Andrew Wasley is food and agriculture reporter at 
the Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Madlen Davies is science and health reporter at 
the Bureau of Investigative Journalism
David Child is a freelance journalist
Fiona Harvey is the environment correspondent for the Guardian

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