Plans for factory farm in Lincolnshire stopped following Animal Aid campaign

The council’s website states that the application, which was made public in October 2015, has been ‘deemed refused’, and the local authority has made it clear that the current plans to build the farm will not be going forward. The applicant will have to re-submit the plans if he wishes to make a fresh attempt to get the pig farm built. We have been informed that the Planning Office recommended that the proposal was refused on environmental grounds, but that the application was withdrawn.

The decision was taken within less than a week of Animal Aid launching a public campaign against the plans, which resulted in more than 4,000 people submitting official objections to the council via our website.

The thousands of objectors inspired by Animal Aid’s campaign joined numerous others. These included local residents who had submitted independent objections, the Environment Agency and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue. Upton Parish Council submitted a detailed analysis of the problems and issues that were raised by the proposal.

The new ‘unit’ would have employed only one person, and Animal Aid believes it would have been impossible to ensure even the most basic welfare of individual animals. In the event of a flood or fire, the pigs could not have been safely evacuated, and the local fire service declared that there was an insufficient water supply for dealing with any fires that broke out.

As well as causing terrible suffering to thousands of pigs, the farm could have had serious consequences for the local environment and community. Intensive farms like this one put the public at risk from outbreaks of disease, since the closely confined conditions provide an ideal environment for the spread of infections, including MRSA and swine flu. The Environment Agency’s objection was prompted by the lack of information provided by the plans about how pollution, noise and odour would be managed.

Says Animal Aid Campaign Manager Isobel Hutchinson:

‘We are greatly encouraged that this disastrous development will not be going ahead, and would like to thank everyone who took the time to speak out against it. If the application for the farm is re-submitted, we will be ready to oppose it with equal vigour, and we know we can count on the support of thousands of others who will do the same.

‘We feel sure that this planning application has helped to open people’s eyes to the suffering and exploitation of animals on farms, and very much hope that they will drop meat and other animal products as a result. Animal Aid provides free vegan information packs for anyone who is interested in adopting a cruelty-free diet.’

Editors’ notes

• For more information or to interview Campaign Manager Isobel Hutchinson, please phone 01732 364 546 ext 233. Out of hours 07786 159 934.