River Wye: Legal claim launched to compensate people living near UK river 'destroyed' by 'sickening' pollution from chicken farms

A multi-million pound legal claim has been launched to compensate people living near the River Wye who have been affected by its major degradation caused by industrial scale chicken farming. The claim by law firm Leigh Day will be brought against Avara Foods Limited, one of the UK’s biggest food producers.

The law firm alleges that the chicken farming in the River Wye catchment area is polluting the river, arguing that Avara Foods is responsible for the damage already caused and it should clean up the river as well as pay people and businesses whose livelihoods have been impacted. The legal claim will also look to prevent Avara Foods from polluting the river further if the company doesn’t carry out its pledge.

People can join the legal claim if they have a claim alleging private and public nuisance or live in a 4,000 sq km area in Powys, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. The claimants will include people affected by the pollution such as swimmers, canoeists, walkers, clubs, organisations, anglers and businesses whose lives and trade has been hit by the worsening condition of the river, or the nuisance effects on those living near chicken farming, such as smells, insects and noise. 

The civil claim is being handled by a team led by Leigh Day partner Oliver Holland. He said: “This destruction of one the UK’s most beautiful natural areas cannot continue, which is why we are bringing this legal action.” 

The legal claim comes after the River Wye has been spotlighted over recent weeks. In February River Action took the Environment Agency and Defra to court claiming both acted unlawfully in failing to adequately protect the River Wye from agricultural pollution.  

The charity said that industrialised chicken production throughout the Wye region has “now been established as one of the principal causes of the severe pollution of the river” and “urgent and immediate action is now needed to end the destructive application of chicken manure across the soils of the river catchment, from where it constantly leaches into the watercourse.” It adds that it is a “sickening and avoidable tragedy” that “could have been seriously mitigated had the Environment Agency properly enforced existing environmental regulations”.

The health status of the River Wye was downgraded last May meaning its condition is poor – and worsening. Between 2013 and 2017 the number of birds in Herefordshire rose by one-third, and the largest poultry processor is Avara, which is reportedly responsible for 80% of the birds in the River Wye catchment area. It is believed that a significant factor in the increase in poultry production in the region after 2018 was in order to meet the chicken meat demands of Tesco, a customer of Avara Foods.  

River Action’s chair and founder Charles Watson said it is “entirely appropriate that the polluter must now be made to pay to clean up the mess we believe it has created and subsequently profited from.” He added: “We therefore applaud this action being taken by Leigh Day to seek recompense for the pollution of this magnificent river.”

Avara Foods is a UK subsidiary of US multinational Cargill Plc which has faced similar claims in the US as a result of polluting the Illinois River due to the same practice of high intensive poultry farming. Avara Foods says it is committed to playing its part in the restoration of the River Wye “by taking accountability for the poultry manure that originates from it supply chain… but reversing the decline of the river is beyond the means of any single organisation”. 

Anyone who thinks they have a claim against Avara Foods because of nuisance they have suffered because of the impact of chicken farming in the Wye Valley, can get in touch with the River Wye claim legal team at Leigh Day by contacting [email protected]