Swine flu is the umpteenth example of the risks of animal diseases for humans.
"Stop animal disease, stop factory farming".
Press release "Environmental protection": Amsterdam, 8 May 2009 - Factory farming increases the risk of occurrence of animal diseases which are threatening to human health. The Authorities should therefore call a halt to building these factory farms. The organization "Environmental Protection (in Dutch: Milieudefensie)" is therefore starting a petition on internet today, "Stop animal disease, stop factory farming", by which government and parliament are called upon to opt for a form of livestock farming which respects national health, animal welfare and the quality of the environment. The threat of Swine Flu which recently appeared in Mexico is the lead-up to this petition.
Campaign leader Wouter van Eck of Environmental Protection: "Let us not fool ourselves and each other by the name now being given to Swine Fever. It is certain that this virus has had its origin in pigs and that it has been transferred to humans. The Avian Flu virus is also transferrable to humans. In the future, livestock farming will need to curtail these risks, instead of increasing them.
On a global basis, The Netherlands is the country with most pigs and poultry per square kilometer. Millions of animals live on top of each other. They are bred through unilaterally, so that massive amounts of antibiotics need to be administered. As more and more animals are kept together in these concentrations, the health threats increase. The so-called "mega stalls", in which even thousands of pigs or hundreds of thousands of chickens are piled on top of each other, are the most extreme form of this factory farming. The Dutch Institution for Public Health and the Environment concluded last year that the existence of these mega stalls increases occurrence of diseases which are dangerous for humans.
82 Factory Farms planned.
At this point in time, Environmental Protection is aware of plans for construction of 82 mega stalls, spread throughout The Netherlands. The most extensive building plan is for Grubbenvorst (Limburg), where a factory farm with 35.000 pigs and 1,2 million chickens is to be built. The Minister of Agriculture is supporting the arrival of these factory farms. She refuses to conduct a thorough investigation into the risks to public health. She also refuses to undo the just as risky clustering of livestock factories in the so-called Agricultural Development Areas.
Wouter van Eck: "It is incomprehensible that our government continues to support factory farming. Certainly now, with the outbreak of Swine Flu, once again signaling that it is a risk to both animal and human health to continue to keep livestock in this manner. For the planned factory farm in Grubbenvorst subsidies of millions of Euros are even being made available. Will this be the breeding ground for even more new animal diseases?
