Spanish region to limit animal farms number for 4 more years
Local authorities in Catalonia have issued a Decree Law by which it will limit for four more years the possibility of expanding and installing new animal farms in the 68 municipalities which already have a large number of units and where the water is contaminated by nitrates from slurry.
Initially, the law was passed in July 2019 and was planned for two years. However, poor result obtained in the last couple of years have convince the authorities to extend the limitation for 4 more years.
The measure is the result of a process of dialogue with the livestock sector, which is committed to reversing the current situation. The Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda pursues the objective of avoiding the surplus of slurry. In other words, that existing farms can manage manure in a more efficient way and adopt treatment systems and value these natural fertilizers without increasing the number of animals that are raised in these areas.
In Catalonia, there are approximately 8 million pigs, 700,000 cattle and 38 million birds that each year generate about 17 million tons of slurry and 4.4 million tons of manure and chicken manure, according to Carnica magazine.
105 farms have their own treatment systems which means the management of 34% of the surplus slurry. Besides, 50% of the surpluses are treated by companies specialized in waste. Currently, therefore, there is still 16% surplus nitrogen from slurry that must be exported (with the corresponding carbon dioxide emissions) for proper management.
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