Residents of Odeigne, in the Walloon province of Luxembourg, have launched a fourth bid to prevent an industrial pig farm from being set up near their village.
Their fight began in 2010, when a local farmer applied for a license for a project to fatten 1,200 pigs on grates and received approval from the then Minister of the Environment in March 2011. A villagers’ collective quickly petitioned the Council of State to have the license withdrawn.
It was annulled in 2014, and again in 2017 and 2022. However, the Walloon Region this year again confirmed the license, based on a synthesis report produced in October 2010 by technical and delegated officials, Belga News Agency reports.
In a letter to the municipality of Manhay, which includes Odeigne, Wallonia’s public service indicated that the synthesis report constituted a definitive decision, which has been criticised by locals.
“This is Kafkaesque! A real denial of justice and democracy,” representatives of the villagers’ collective, which has submitted a fourth appeal to the Council of State to have the license revoked, said.
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No impact assessment was done, they argued, pointing to the environmental consequences of setting up an industrial pig farm “in the heart of a region recognised for its biodiversity,” located between the bogs of the Plateau des Tailles and the Aisne stream below.
Detractors of the project are also fearful of the impact the smells from the pig farm could have on their village’s ability to continue attracting tourists.
