CPRW is supporting the Soil Association petition asking the UK Government to implement a ban on new intensive poultry units, support farmers to exit this damaging industry, and take action to reduce chicken consumption to more sustainable levels.
Senedd Cymru has devolved power over agricultural and environmental policy, but the River Wye is on the Welsh and English border and as well reported in the media the Wye River is very close to ecological collapse, with industrial poultry farming one the main polluters.
Poultry “capital” of the UK – Powys, Herefordshire, Shropshire
With over 4 million chickens in Powys, more than 20 million chickens in the Wye catchment at any time, the area has been named as the poultry capital of the UK by Dr Alison Caffyn.
Chicken manure is rich in phosphates and over 6,500 tonnes of phosphate enters the catchment area every year with over 4,000 tonnes coming from chicken feed that is excreted and spread as fertiliser on agricultural land.
CPRW Brecon and Radnor branch campaign
Since 2015, CPRW Brecon and Radnor branch members, Dr Alison Caffyn, Christine Hugh-Jones and Margaret Tear have campaigned on this issue, cataloguing every application made for intensive poultry farms across Powys. They created an informative map (see below) that shows all of the locations of poultry units in the catchment area in order to show the public how the rapid pace and scale of applications and approvals.
Since Spring 2023 twelve poultry planning applications in Powys are under “Holding Directions” by the Welsh Government and we are still waiting decisions.
You can see our much-consulted Powys Chicken Map here.
Please watch the film and sign this PETITION to Stop Killing our Rivers
