Campaigners have taken the Environment Agency and the UK government to court, arguing that they failed to protect the River Wye from pollution caused by intensive chicken farming. The judicial review, brought by the group River Action, was heard at the High Court in Cardiff on Wednesday.
River Action claims a legal loophole has allowed waste from 25 million chickens in the catchment area to pollute the river. The group says the farming rules for water state it is an offence to apply fertilisers or manure that exceed what the land can absorb, but a loophole exempts farmers when it is impractical to comply.
Charles Watson, founder of River Action, said the loophole has had “horrendous consequences”, with manure running off into the Wye. He accused the authorities of “wantonly failing” to do their job, allowing food production to supersede environmental protection. The river has been downgraded to an unfavourable state by Natural England due to nutrient pollution.
The court heard that the Wye is in ecological crisis, blighted by algal blooms caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural runoff. The blooms deplete oxygen and choke native water crowfoot, a protected feature of the river’s ecosystem.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has intervened in the case, arguing that legislation must be applied “correctly and proportionately”. An Environment Agency spokesperson said it has performed over 7,000 farm inspections since 2021 and required thousands of improvement actions, but declined to comment on ongoing proceedings.
