Mallorca: Human chain against 80,000-hen farm plan

Mallorca: Campaigners plan a human chain in Son Brau, Manacor, at 11am on Sunday against a proposed farm for 80,000 hens. The No Macrogranjas platform is organising the protest. Animal welfare groups Arde and Satya Animal say the project should be rejected.

50,000 signatures against the plan

On Friday, the two groups handed the Balearic regional government 50,000 signatures collected across Spain. They say keeping so many hens together would create problems for animal welfare and the environment. Manacor council and other bodies have also issued reports opposing the plan, according to the groups.

Satya Animal spokesman Kike Gimeno said he did not know exactly how far the project had progressed. But he said the company had bought the land and was making legal preparations. He accused the regional government of backing the plan, while Manacor council opposed it.

Separate farm complaint brings legal threat

The protest comes amid a separate dispute over an existing hen farm in Manacor. Arde and Satya Animal reported it to Balearic prosecutors, saying they had documented sick hens, carcasses, mites and cockroaches among eggs. The Balearic Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment inspected the farm on Tuesday.

The department’s head, Joan Simonet, said the farm, which had space for about 40,000 birds in two sheds, was empty by then. He said the hens had been taken to a slaughterhouse in Murcia with the required permits.

On Thursday, Avícola Ballester and Avícola Son Perot said they would take legal action over allegations made by the animal welfare groups. The companies also said they would pursue a claim against Gimeno over his warning about Son Perot eggs unless he withdrew it.

Topics: Protests · Agriculture · Manacor · Sineu

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com