Louise Hubball The Politics Show South West

John Riddell will be hit hard by emission control laws

Outbreaks of avian flu across Europe have caused widespread alarm.

Poultry producers are still struggling to come to terms with the cost of the disease, which the National Farmers' Union (NFU) believe, may have been as much as �58m since autumn 2005.

Now environmental legislation from Europe, aimed more at heavy industry than agriculture, is threatening to cost farmers thousands of pounds, at a time when they say the industry is just beginning to recover.

John Riddell has grown up farming broiler chickens near Crewkerne in Somerset. He says new legislation from Brussels will cost him thousands of pounds.

The laws aim to reduce emissions into the environment and are primarily aimed at heavy industry.

Industry level charges

Drastic measures have had to be taken in the Far East to deal with the flu

But poultry and pig farms have found themselves lumped into the same category because of the ammonia and dust they produce, meaning John is subject to what he believes are industrial-scale charges.

"It is going to cost me very nearly 25% of what I earn," he said.

"It is just under �6,000 in the first year. Half of that is an initial registration fee, and the other half is an annual charge - so I'll be paying it for the rest of my life."

Implementation imminent

Applications for the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control permit system, or IPPC, start from the beginning of November 2006.

Farms like John's, where there are over 40,000 birds, will have to have a permit to operate. Although 40,000 may sound a lot, it is standard for a large poultry farm.

Aside from the cost, the 64-page application form is a dense document.

Long campaign

Chicken farmers will be up in arms in Westminster soon

The regulations have been on the cards for some time, and for the last decade John has been campaigning against their formulation.

On Wednesday 25 October he joins around 200 other chicken farmers at Westminster to protest against the new inspections r�gime.

"I think it was totally misguided in the first place to apply legislation that applies to a coal fire burning station and to take that down and stick it on the farm," he said.

"It is mad. Without a doubt, a lot of farmers are to going to say 'it's not worth the candle' and shut down."

Red taped?

The regulations come hot on the heels of global avian flu outbreaks.

In an unusual step the NFU, British Egg Industry Council and the British Poultry Council have joined forces, saying that the industry needs more time to recover before it can face such charges.

"We don't want this crippling cost loaded on us when we're still on the floor," said Ian Johnson from the NFU.

"Give us three years - a three year waiver - and we could cope with it.

"It is not ideal - we think it could have been better implemented, but nevertheless we'll live with it."

Government neglect?

The spread of Avian Flu has been steady

Many poultry farmers feel they are being neglected by the government.

Following the outbreaks of avian flu, EU member states could apply for compensation from Brussels.

Fifteen countries did, but the UK government decided against it.

So are British farmers now getting a fair deal under IPPC?

The answer to that is "no", said Conservative MEP Neil Parish.

"Because the Danes are charging �700 to set up the system and then no charges after that. The Dutch and the Belgians are not charging at all.

"We are charging �3,500 to set it up and then �2,500 annual fee... do we want to kill off the goose that lays the golden egg?"

Farming pollutes?

This is a political decision for each national Government Defra

A spokesperson for Defra said that intensive farming has the potential to cause major pollution, and that it is unreasonable for the taxpayer to cover the costs of regulation by the Environment Agency.

"Some EU Member States may not charge for IPPC permit applications, but may recover varying proportions of their costs from the regulated industry, while others bear the cost in general taxation; this is a political decision for each national Government."

In this country, however, British law obliges the Environment Agency to recover its costs.

IPPC has to be fully implemented in all EU member states by October 2007, but as John prepares for the farmers' protest in Westminster next week, he is hoping there is room for negotiation.

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