The poultry industry is planning a major expansion of factory farms across England, creating new hotspots for air and river pollution.
A joint investigation by The i Paper and investigative journalism outlet Grilled has found there are plans to build at least 600 new chicken sheds in response to new supermarket welfare standards.
Many of the new poultry farms will be large “megafarms” with the capacity to hold over 200,000 chickens at any one time.
Intensive chicken farming has been associated with toxic air and river pollution, most notably around the River Wye catchment area. Many of the new applications are centered around Lincolnshire.
Residents there told The i Paper they were concerned about the health impacts of living next to these polluting units while environmental campaigners said chicken farming was “suffocating” local rivers.
