UK Nature and Environment

The recent ecological collapse of the River Wye due to pollution from intensive agriculture has been well documented. But the slow-motion repetition of this ecocide on the neighbouring River Severn has largely unfolded out of sight.

For years, local authorities have been waving through industrial-scale livestock production units across the catchment of this iconic river. These toxic megafarms produce vast quantities of animal waste, which is spread on local land with minimal consideration for the cumulative environmental destruction it can cause.

This week, the high court called time on this practice. In a landmark ruling, the court quashed Shropshire council’s planning permission for a 230,000-bird intensive poultry unit near two protected wetland sites and a mile from the banks of the Severn. The court found the council had unlawfully failed to assess the cumulative impact of adding yet another waste-spewing chicken megafarm to an already bloated cluster of intensive poultry units (IPUs).