Construction starts on mega pig farm

Ground has been broken to begin the development of a controversial mega pig farm in Northern Ireland.

Newtonabbey farmer Derek Hall is constructing a 15,000-head pig unit after his initial plans for a 30,000-strong herd were curtailed by planning officers from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

More than 200,000 people signed an online petition opposing the development with animal welfare, noise and foul odours cited as the greatest causes for concern, particularly for local residents.

Ulster Unionist Roderick Swann was among those to back proposals for the mega-unit.

He said: “I’m a farmer myself who supports the agri-industry and I was quite satisfied that all the necessary welfare issues were addressed.

“The planning case officer and all the consultees were quite happy with everything that was proposed.”

Mr Hall, who has quality assurance accreditation for his current farming operations, said he hopes construction of the new farm will be completed before the autumn.

“We aim to house 15,000 pigs from weaning age, or around 7kg upwards, at the new farm.”

Mr Hall currently has 900 sows which will remain at his existing farm.

In a bid to allay fears over the scale of operations at the new unit, Mr Hall explained that one third of the total pigs there will be small animals producing very little slurry.

“We are building a 500 kilowatt anaerobic digester which will take the odour-emitting gases from the slurry, thereby significantly reducing odour, and convert them into energy,” he said.

“This energy base will be used to power the farm.

“The digester will also produce heat which will be used in the pig houses in order to create a better environment for the animals.”

The original plans were scaled down to 15,000 animals.