Hundreds of Dutch farmers protest plans to revoke permits of five poultry farms

DEN BOSCH - Hundreds of farmers demonstrated outside the provincial government building in Den Bosch against plans to revoke the permits of five poultry farmers. The Noord-Brabant provincial government says the farms emit too much nitrogen into nearby protected nature areas and that their proposals to reduce emissions are insufficient.

The decision is not yet final. The provincial parliament returned from recess to debate the issue following a request from several opposition parties. Farmers' organizations including LTO, ZLTO and Farmers Defense Force organized the protest, while other farmers fear their own permits could eventually face similar action.

The dispute follows years of legal proceedings involving environmental organizations, the province and the farmers. The Dutch agriculture minister has said the national government wants to do everything possible to prevent the permits from being withdrawn and believes the poultry farmers should be given an opportunity to submit new emission-reduction plans.

The protest was overshadowed by a serious accident on the A59 motorway, where two people were killed and six injured. According to the ANWB, the crash occurred at the end of a traffic jam that had developed while tractors were driving on motorways. Police are investigating the exact cause.