UK’s chicken megafarms are fuelling rise in ammonia emissions

Intensive poultry industry has expanded operations “significantly” in recent years, with local authorities too overstretched to properly assess the impact of pollution on health

Environmentalists are calling for planning restrictions on chicken megafarm – poultry farms housing over 40,000 birds – hotspots after an i newspaper and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) investigation revealed emissions of ammonia have increased by 40% in Wales, 20% in Norfolk, and 11% in Lincolnshire.

Ammonia is emitted by livestock and farm waste; if mixed with other pollutants, it can create toxic particles linked to increased death rates, and damage plant life and biodiversity.

Frank Kelly, Professor of Environmental Health at Imperial College London said: “Agricultural ammonia is a major source of particulate matter (PM) pollution across Europe. Given the very strong link between PM exposure and a range of chronic diseases and exacerbation of respiratory conditions, further restrictions are required to reduce ammonia emissions, especially from poultry farms.”

The government has committed to reducing ammonia emissions by 2030. Although pollution linked to chicken farms has fallen across England since 2017, a sharp increase has been observed in certain regions, particularly areas hardest hit by agricultural pollution.

In 2017, there were 600 US-style megafarms in the UK. Last year, this rose to almost 1,000, with the expansion around a handful of poultry hubs near major abattoirs and processing plants, including Lincolnshire and the counties surrounding the River Wye, where manure used as fertiliser has been blamed for river degradation. Farmers argue that the low cost of chicken in supermarkets makes the increase necessary.

David Edwards, Deputy Chief Executive, Food, Farming and Countryside Commission said: “The intensive poultry industry has been able to expand its operations significantly over the last decade, with little scrutiny from under-resourced and overstretched local authorities and environmental bodies. People now understand the cumulative water and air pollution this has caused, and the resulting impact on the health of local communities.”

Freedom of Information data shows most applications for new intensive farming permits since 2017 were approved. In England, the Environment Agency blocked 57 of 2,000 applications; Welsh authorities rejected one of 33 while none of 32 applications in Northern Ireland and Scotland were rejected.

“I call on the UK government to prohibit the construction of any new industrial livestock farms…due to the grave threats they pose to public health…”

Peter Stevenson, Chief Policy Advisor, Compassion in World Farming said, “The large amounts of ammonia emitted by industrial poultry and pig farms can lead to serious human disease. I call on the UK government to prohibit the construction of any new industrial livestock farms, or the expansion of existing operations, due to the grave threats they pose to public health, the environment and the welfare of animals confined in these farms.”

Professor Mark Sutton from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology added that clustering multiple small units increases the risk of acute ammonia pollution in the local area, posing a threat to sensitive species. “Planning authorities should consider the particular sensitivity of local habitats when deciding whether to allow new poultry farms.”

The investigation found significant amounts of emissions go unreported; regulatory loopholes mean farms housing less than 40,000 birds are not required to report ammonia emissions (almost 20 million birds are reared on farms falling below this threshold). Farms are also not required to monitor farm waste leaving their site, which amasses hundreds of tonnes annually.

Emily O'Brien, Green Party Food, Agriculture and Rural Welfare Spokesperson added that “any process that is potentially dangerous to people, animals or the environment should be banned. Intensive poultry farms clearly fit this category.”