PETA joins fight against giant Penkridge chicken farm

PETA UK is objecting to the proposal for eight chicken barns.

The barns would hold 482,000 birds, with 60,250 in each.

Bosses at Pillaton Foods have lodged the proposals for the land at Cannock Road, Pillaton, Penkridge, with South Staffordshire Council.

But PETA has launched a scathing attack on the plans, insisting they would mean that the chickens would be 'intensively confined in miserable conditions' and that the farm would cause 'increased noise, traffic and unpleasant smells for local residents'.

The animal rights organisation is now calling on its supporters to sign an open letter to Sarah Clifford, a case officer at South Staffordshire Council.

The letter reads: "We are writing to urge you to reject planning application 16/00527/FUL for eight new broiler units in Penkridge, which, if built, would confine up to 482,000 chickens at a time. We are concerned for a number of reasons:

"Factory farms are large, filthy and crowded, and they pose a threat to the environment, both locally and globally. The pollution from the proposed facility would put pressure on local water supplies.

"Such a large-scale farming operation would likely generate noise from high-velocity extractor fans and cause an increase in traffic.

"Ammonia levels on chicken factory farms are so high that the corrosive substance burns the birds' lungs and skin, and it's likely that the chemicals and stench from the proposed broiler units would adversely affect local residents' health. This huge new farm would dominate the rural landscape around Penkridge.

"Intensive broiler farms cause immense suffering to chickens who spend their short lives in crowded sheds, often suffering from hock burn, illness and injury before they're sent to slaughter. Please don't allow this application to go ahead."

Their objections follow calls from residents who said they feared they would be plagued by the smells.

But Ian Pick, the planning agent acting on behalf of the applicant, has hit back.

He said: "PETA are a pressure group, they have their own theories. Our cages have got to conform to UK welfare standards, which are higher than a lot of the rest of the world.

"These units are controlled by the Environment Agency and their environmental permit regime. The development is not allowed to create noise problems, odour problems etc for residents.

"We have got a shortage of home produced chicken in this country, there a lots of imports coming in from abroad, and the applicant is reacting to that demand."