Industrial poultry farms face tough new regulations around the disposal of chicken manure after a judge ruled it can be classified as waste and requires a detailed and transparent plan to dispose of it without damaging the environment.
The high court ruling means new US-style mega-farms in Herefordshire will have to deal with poultry manure as if it was industrial waste.
The ruling has implications for industrial chicken units all over the country. It comes as the English and Welsh governments announced £1m in funding to investigate the devastating pollution of the River Wye, where about 23m chickens are being produced in the river catchment at any one time.
The health of the river, which flows for 155 miles from mid-Wales to the Severn estuary in England, has been downgraded by Natural England from “unfavourable-improving” to “unfavourable-declining”, meaning its condition is poor and worsening. Its decline has been linked to intensive chicken farming in the catchment from the spreading of poultry manure, which contains high levels of phosphate, on to fields, which then leaches into the river.
Studies have shown 70% of the phosphate in the River Wye catchment comes from agriculture, although not all is chicken-related. One study recommended an 80% reduction in poultry manure in the Wye catchment to protect the river and called for a cut in the overall number of birds and for the exporting of manure out of the area.
The high court judgment defining chicken manure as industrial waste came after the National Farmers’ Union challenged waste rules set by Herefordshire council.
The NFU said poultry manure should be treated as an agricultural byproduct, not as waste under the waste framework directive.
But Mrs Justice Lieven in her ruling said it cannot be assumed that manure will be used in an environmentally safe way. Given the environmental problems caused by chicken manure in the Wye catchment area, she rejected the NFU challenge and said poultry manure amounted to “waste” in law up to the point it was sold or transferred to a third party.
The ruling means that new chicken units in Herefordshire will have to provide a detailed plan at the planning application stage to ensure chicken manure can be disposed of safely, including full transparency on the manure’s destination and application.
The campaign group River Action, which intervened in the case, said the ruling was a landmark decision that had implications for all new industrial chicken units.
Charles Watson, the chair of River Action, said: “We believe the ruling clarifies once and for all that the intensive factory production of livestock is clearly an industrial manufacturing process, whereby the often-toxic waste that it produces must be treated as such.”
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Carol Day of Leigh Day, who acted for River Action, said: “People proposing new intensive poultry units in Herefordshire will need to put in place proper arrangements for dealing with the huge volumes of manure that is produced. The judgment should also now mean that proper environmental controls are put in place across the country to oversee the production and handling of manure from animals on farms.”
Rachel Hallos, the NFU vice-president, said: “We are extremely disappointed by the high court’s ruling and are currently reviewing the judgment carefully to examine its potential implications for our members in Herefordshire. The NFU is considering whether to seek permission to appeal [against] today’s ruling.
“Britain’s farmers recognise their businesses have a major role to play, alongside producing food, in improving water quality. Much progress has already been made through regulation and voluntary measures such as carefully managing how much manure and fertiliser is applied to fields.”
