'Bring on those damage claims against Brabant'

Pig farmers in North Brabant can file damage claims against the Province of North Brabant from today (Friday 14 July). With this, the Producers Organization for Pig Husbandry (POV) - a week after the Provincial Council approved the package of measures for careful livestock farming - is taking the first step in the legal proceedings.

The claims for damages are not the only steps being taken against the controversial decision of the Provincial Council. "In addition to holding the province liable for the financial consequences of the decision, we are also starting proceedings against the legal bases of the decision," says POV chairman Ingrid Jansen.

Also called non-members
Today the POV has a sample letter put online, which can be downloaded by all pig farmers. 'So also pig farmers who are not yet members of the POV. After all, the financial consequences of the provincial decision are so great that we want to offer all pig farmers the opportunity to submit a claim for compensation and to challenge the decision', explains Jansen.

Not lawful
POV has had lawyers test the measures against the law. 'The measures announced in Brabant are not lawful', says Jansen. The Spatial Planning Regulation (including the Brabant Carefulness Score, BZV) and the Nature Protection Regulation force pig farmers to comply with requirements that exceed the statutory requirements and to take measures that exceed the statutory requirements.

"This leads to additional costs for them, not only compared to abroad, but also compared to fellow pig farmers in other provinces. As a result, there is an uneven playing field and the province is breaking through the market regulation in an unauthorized way."

Requirements illegal
Even if those more far-reaching (extra-statutory) measures would be effective, it is still not allowed to demand them, according to the POV. "The decrease that livestock farmers (based on calculations) have to achieve as a result of the measures is used by the province as space for economic developments in other sectors. The net environmental benefit is therefore nil. There is no legal basis for demanding those measures."
Moreover, with the amendment of the Nature Protection Regulation, the province is unilaterally changing the agreements made in the Nitrogen and Natura 2000 Covenant, and therefore contrary to legal certainty.

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