The pictures above are from a previous investigation of a farm connected to Midland Pig Producers back in 2003 (we also investigated one of their farms in 2006). MPP plans claim they will improve welfare, but given the dreadful conditions above can we really believe what they say? The bottom line is that we believe it is cruel to confine animals on factory farms. And the Foston proposal is factory farming on an unprecedented scale.
Council taking objections until three days before decision (date tbc)
"Keeping livestock outdoors may be perceived to be welfare friendly, but . is likely to become a thing of the past in the next decade."
Thank you to everyone who helped fight this development the first time round. We won round one, but now the people behind what would be Britain's largest ever pig farm (which will hold around 26,000 pigs) have resubmitted plans - this time to the county council. That's why we need your help to fight this - again!
Although it would be wrong to think we don't already have intensive farming of animals in the UK, the plans at Foston would be a lurch even further towards American style mega-farming and all that entails. As we have seen in the US, animals and local people often come a very distant second to the pursuit of profit. We should be getting rid of factory farming, not embracing it - and people power is the key to stopping such developments.
Foston Pig Prison
Surrounded by barbed wire fences, the massive complex would imprison sows that would never go outside. An uncomfortable comparison with the neighbouring women's prison only a stone's throw away. [click here to see the plans for this massive complex]
Foston pig farm is due to be situated right next to the historic village of the same name (on a beautiful Greenfield site) and will produce a thousand pigs a week, which will be transported off-site to slaughter. That's 48,000 pigs a year. At any one time the farm will house around 26,000 animals trapped on a slow conveyor belt towards the abattoir. As far as we know, these plans are for the biggest factory farm of pigs so far in Britain. Unbelievably, there will be a picnic site overlooking it.
MPP also claim to have been working with animal welfare and animal rights groups - rest assured it was most certainly not Viva! - in designing potentially Britain's largest pig factory farm. Yes, they have made some improvements - farrowing crates where sows can now actually turn around - but we believe it is a far cry from high welfare. Pigs are rooting animals that can roam miles in the wild and enjoy total freedom in their interaction with their young. Today's factory farms deny almost all that is natural to these sensitive and intelligent animals.
Then there's the impact on humans. Have we learnt nothing from swine flu, bird flu, SARS (severe viral pneumonia) etc in the way we treat animals? Situating a massive intensive farm this close to people (the nearest house is just 20 metres away from the perimeter fence) could be asking for trouble. Not least the use of a huge anaerobic digester to process around 15 million litres of slurry a year. These digesters are designed to produce energy and reduce smell, but can actually be a source of smell, noise and - in the worst case scenario - toxic gases and even fire and explosions.
If Foston Pig Prison goes ahead this - like the recently proposed move to zero-grazing dairy cows in Lincolnshire - could be the thin end of the wedge. If the company gets its way, there will be no more animals left in the British countryside. We stopped the mega-dairy. We must stop this.
Post: Strategic Director of Environmental Services, Derbyshire County Council, Shand House, Dale Road South, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3RY
Stop eating meat: these places only exist because of our demand for meat. If you want to stop them, stop feeding them your custom. Go vegetarian or even better go vegan.
Join Viva!: we are completely donations run. If you agree with what we do and want to fight the disease that is factory farming from spreading any further across this country please join us or donate to our campaigns.
Foston Pig Prison
would be built on this beautiful Greenfield site
I am writing to lodge a formal objection to the proposed intensive pig farm at Foston, South Derbyshire (by Midland Pig Producers (MPP)). The reasons for my objection are below.
Animal welfare: I know this isn't taken into account when deciding the outcome of planning meetings, but I strongly believe it should be - and, despite welfare improvements MPP have suggested they will make, I do not believe that it is possible to provide high welfare for 26,000 pigs on an indoor farm this size.
Risk to human health: keeping large numbers of animals near residential dwellings (Foston prison and the village itself - where the nearest inhabited dwelling is only 20m from the perimeter) is a potential disease risk to humans. In light of recent swine flu outbreaks and a recent study that showed that potentially deadly superbugs can be spread by flies from pig farms to people living miles away this should be of particular concern.
Environmental impact: this farm will not be green, as MPP have suggested. In fact, it is my understanding that the methane from the pigs themselves will produce over twice as much carbon equivalent gases as the neighbouring village of Foston itself.
Anaerobic digester: I understand that this is being used to strip the slurry of methane and to stop smell. However, it is also my understanding that anaerobic digesters can actually be responsible for producing smells and toxic gases, and in the worst case scenario can be a fire or explosion risk. Good practice dictates that these should not be built next to residential areas (especially one of this size) - and to do so would potentially put lives at risk. It will also use huge amounts of water - as will the farm itself - and would potentially pollute surrounding land.
Noise: the developers say that the noise will be minimal. This is hard to take seriously, as noise will be generated by machinery and from the animals themselves as they are taken to slaughter (a thousand a week). MPP say that the nearby road will drown the noise out, but it is my understanding that the noise level from the road is not consistent and some residential units are closer to the farm itself than they are to the road.
Impact on wildlife: the development will obliterate a productive Greenfield site, whilst Brownfield sites are nearby. Bat roosts have been potentially identified, and building work - and the farm itself - whilst perhaps not encroaching directly onto it, will still possibly have a negative effect on wildlife.
HM Foston: I believe it is wrong to build such a development next to a group of people who have no rights to play a part in deciding whether it should be built or not. It is also my understanding that MPP have declared that the women's prison could be powered by energy produced on the farm, but no agreement that I am aware of - formal or even informal - has been entered into. In fact, the energy produced may not power any part of the village - and is therefore would be of no direct benefit to the local area.
Increased traffic: the A50 through Foston is already a busy road. The pig farm will bring more traffic - especially heavy goods vehicles - that will increase congestion. As the road outside of Foston has been the scene of several road traffic accidents in recent times, this could make the situation worse.
Jobs for local people: MPP have said the development will provide jobs for local people. However, the acquisition of residential properties from the women's prison suggests that workers from outside the area will be brought in - further increasing traffic.
Precedence against the development at Foston: it is my understanding that, in the past, a neighbouring property had its planning application turneddown because of its potential effect on the view (Maidensley Farm - where the erection of a chimney was refused). The pig farm development at Foston will change the local view incalculably more and should not be allowed.
Derbyshire County Council’s Environmental Policy: it is my understanding that this development may contravene the council's own environment policy, by potentially polluting, increasing traffic, being noisy and generally disruptive.
To sum up: I believe that the proposal has no discernable benefits for the local community whatsoever. Housing on site is surely to attract workers from outside the area. As far as I am aware, the women's prison has denied that it has entered into any agreement with MPP – and as any energy produced will go to the national grid it will have no direct relevance to Foston itself. No amount of ‘environmental enhancement’ from MPP will disguise the fact that a massive industrial agricultural unit has obliterated a Greenfield site and forever altered the landscape around this ancient village. It will also unquestionably increase traffic on a road (A50) that has suffered traffic accidents recently. It will also likely to bring an unreasonable increase in noise levels for adjoining residents from machinery, traffic and the animals themselves. Finally, the potential health and environmental consequences of placing what could be Britain's largest ever pig farm next to an inhabited area should not be underestimated. Derbyshire County Council may be going against its own Environmental Policy by doing so.
MPP's plans to develop land at Foston for intensive pig farming must not be given approval.
Yours faithfully"
British pig farming
Click here to read about one of Viva!'s undercover investigation in British pig farming.
Click below to find out more about Viva! campaigns to end the factory farming of pigs.
Object to the Environment Agency by 20 July 2011
The Environment Agency (EA) have invited comments from members of the public to help facilitate their decision over the proposed mega-pig farm at Foston. Use our template below to add your voice!
It is incredibly important that we all do this, as a sustained objection from the EA could provide the main stumbling block to this development. In fact, the EA has already objected once (because of potential threats of pollution to the groundwater). They are currently awaiting a re-submission from Midland Pig Producers before reassessing their position.
Please remember: even if you are objecting on animal welfare grounds the EA will only take into account concerns about environmental aspects, but this could be the best shot we have at stopping the Foston Pig prison from going ahead.
“Name of applicant: Midland Pig Producers Limited
Application number:EPR/LP3930FA/A001
Type of regulated facility: Intensive Farming - proposal for the development of a 2500 sow pig unit with frequent slurry removal, anaerobic digestion plant and subsequent biogas combustion plant of <0.4MW
Address of regulated facility: Foston Pig Unit, Land Adjacent to Foston Prison, Foston, Derby, Derbyshire, DE65 5DN
Dear Sir/Madam
I wish to register my objection to this development, as I believe that there is a potential risk of pollution to the local area from the proposed industrial pig development at Foston, Derbyshire.
An overview of my concerns are as follows:
Risk to human health: keeping large numbers of animals near residential dwellings (Foston prison and the village itself - where the nearest inhabited dwelling is only 20m from the perimeter) is a potential disease risk to humans. In light of recent swine flu outbreaks and a recent study that showed that potentially deadly superbugs can be spread by flies from pig farms to people living miles away this should be of particular concern.
Environmental impact: this farm will not be green, as MPP have suggested. In fact, it is my understanding that the methane from the pigs themselves will produce over twice as much carbon equivalent gases as the neighbouring village of Foston itself.
Anaerobic digester: I understand that this is being used to strip the slurry of methane and to stop smell. However, it is also my understanding that anaerobic digesters can actually be responsible for producing smells and toxic gases, and in the worst case scenario can be a fire or explosion risk. Good practice dictates that these should not be built next to residential areas (especially one of this size) - and to do so would potentially put lives at risk.
Water: the anaerobic digester will also use huge amounts of water - as will the farm itself - and would potentially pollute surrounding land. It is my understanding that the Environment Agency has previously said: "In this case, we consider that the proposed development may pose an unacceptable risk of causing a detrimental impact to groundwater quality." - and this has led to the interim objection. I believe that it could be impossible to guarantee that no pollution will ever occur, and this should be reason enough to uphold the Agency’s original objection.
Noise: the developers say that the noise will be minimal. This is hard to take seriously, as noise will be generated by machinery and from the animals themselves as they are taken to slaughter (a thousand a week). MPP say that the nearby road will drown the noise out, but it is my understanding that the noise level from the road is not consistent and some residential units are closer to the farm itself than they are to the road.
Impact on wildlife: the development will obliterate a productive Greenfield site, whilst Brownfield sites are nearby. Bat roosts have been potentially identified, and building work - and the farm itself - whilst perhaps not encroaching directly onto it, will still possibly have a negative effect on wildlife.
I reiterate my call on the Environment Agency to refuse to grant permission for this development to be considered.
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