High court to decide if 23 million chickens are killing the River Wye

Poultry industry insists phosphate-rich manure not to blame as 3,000 people join legal case

- Jon Ungoed-Thomas

In the summer of 2020 conservation groups noticed that the once crystal-clear waters of the River Wye had turned into more of a “pea soup”, choking wildlife and flora.

Alison Caffyn, a researcher, and Christine Hugh-Jones, a member of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales, suspected chicken manure from local poultry factories which is full of phosphates and can be harmful to river life was sullying the water. They had been trying to find out how many chickens were kept in the area.

With no reliable official figures, they trawled through hundreds of planning documents and analysed environmental permits and satellite imagery. Caffyn attended planning meetings and drove from farm to farm, walking across muddy fields to see the impact for herself.

When their work was done, they found that the River Wye catchment area contained 23 million chickens.