Mallorca chicken farm: 50,000 oppose 80,000-hen plan

Mallorca’s planned 80,000-hen farm faces a petition with 50,000 signatures against it: animal welfare groups Arde and Satya Animal are set to take it to the Balearic government in Palma, Mallorca, on Friday, 23 October. The proposed farm is at Son Brau in Manacor, Mallorca. The groups want agriculture minister Joan Simonet to stop the project, put forward by Avícola Son Perot.

They plan to hand over the signatures at 11.30am at the Consolat de Mar, where the Balearic government is due to meet.

Complaints over two existing farms

The petition follows two complaints the groups filed with prosecutors this week about poultry farms run by the same company in Manacor. The groups say images submitted with the complaints show live hens beside decomposing carcasses, as well as eggs with mites, piled-up droppings and cockroaches.

Arde and Satya Animal say those allegations should make the government examine the consequences of approving the new farm. Arde spokeswoman Julia Elizalde pointed to an existing farm with 40,000 hens and asked what might happen at one with 80,000.

Minister keeps the cases separate

Simonet rejected that link on Tuesday. He said the inspection of the Mirabó farm and the Son Brau proposal were separate matters. The new farm remains in the environmental approval process, with reports being gathered from local councils and on water resources and transport.

Elizalde insists the cases are connected. The groups’ next move is to put their signatures before the government as that approval process continues.

Topics: Nature & wildlife · Agriculture · Manacor

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com