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The cabinet has no plans to introduce a maximum size for factory farms and there are so few at the moment there is no need for the government to intervene, junior environment minister Henk Bleker told parliament on Wednesday.
It is up to provinces and local authorities to combat the drive towards ever bigger farms, the minister said. The government will only intervene in the size of a farm if 'public health, socio-economic effects or ethics' make it necessary, Bleker said.
However, Bleker urged local councils to continue to hold back mega-farm developments pending the outcome of a health council report on the likely effect on public health of farms with thousands of animals. That report is due in the third quarter of next year.
Cows and pigs
According to research by Wageningen University earlier this year, the Netherlands now has some 242 ‘mega’ factory farms for cows and pigs compared with just 95 five years ago. A mega-farm is defined by the Alterra institute as one which has 7,500 pigs or 250 dairy cows or 2,500 veal calves.
The move towards mega-farms is part of continuing consolidation in farming. Last year, the Netherlands had some 50,000 livestock farms, compared with 78,000 10 years ago.
Wednesday 23 November 2011/ Dutch News/ Netherlands.
http://www.dutchnews.nl
