Green Squad clearly and unequivocally states: Croatia must not become a zone of concentrated industrial poultry production whose only real objectives are rapid profit and the export of highly processed products, while local communities bear the environmental, health, and economic consequences.
In the Sisak-Moslavina County and the City of Ivanić-Grad area, a total of 20 mega chicken farm and slaughterhouse projects are planned, 19 of which are located in the aforementioned county. These are interventions that entail intensive industrial-scale breeding, feed production, hatcheries, oil processing plants, biogas facilities, and large-scale slaughter capacities. Such a concentration of facilities within a relatively limited area represents an unprecedented intervention in recent agricultural practice in Croatia.
This is not about improving existing domestic production based on family farms and a cooperative model, but about a complete change of concept. Small producers would be pushed out by vertically integrated systems under the control of large investors. Such systems are characterized by high animal density, accelerated fattening cycles, high consumption of energy and water, and significant amounts of waste.
A Series of Risks
Intensive poultry farming on a mega scale carries several clearly documented risks. High concentrations of manure lead to increased emissions of ammonia and nitrogen compounds, including nitrates that can end up in groundwater.
Hypernitrification of soil and water is a serious problem in regions with developed industrial livestock production across Europe. In addition, such facilities generate large quantities of wastewater, the adequate treatment of which requires infrastructure that many settlements at the planned locations do not have.
For example, in some of the municipalities to which the projects relate, there is still no comprehensive water supply and sewage network, nor wastewater treatment plants. In such a context, the question arises as to how thousands of cubic meters of wastewater and dozens of tons of manure generated by such systems on a daily or weekly basis will be managed. Without clear and technically sustainable solutions, the risk to soil, air, and water resources is evident.
Threat to the Population
In addition to the issue of waste, the climate aspect must also be emphasized. Intensive livestock production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane and nitrous oxide. Increasing poultry production capacity on an industrial scale runs counter to the declared goals of reducing emissions and adapting to climate change. In a county already exposed to the consequences of extreme weather events, additional environmental pressure represents a serious strategic risk.
At a time when the entire world is facing serious climate change, which, among other things, increasingly results in catastrophic droughts, and when the preservation of drinking water is becoming imperative, an enormous increase in water consumption required by such a large number of mega slaughterhouses would almost certainly cause a further decline in groundwater levels and thereby seriously endanger the long-term water supply of the local population across the wider county area.
Fragmentation of Investments
Green Squad particularly warns about the problem of project fragmentation. Splitting investments into several formally separate interventions may lead to a situation in which each project is assessed individually, without considering the cumulative impact of all 20 planned facilities. Such an approach does not provide a realistic picture of the total burden on the environment, the ecological network, public health, and the local economy. A strategic environmental impact assessment covering all planned interventions as a single whole is the minimum requirement for responsible spatial management.
In certain cases, serious objections have been raised regarding the compliance of the projects with the applicable spatial planning documentation. If the interventions are not in accordance with the spatial plans of the cities and the county, then this is not only an environmental issue but also a legal one. Institutions are obliged to clearly respond to citizens’ objections and ensure that environmental impact assessment procedures are substantive, well-argued, and transparent, rather than a mere formality.
The dimension of animal welfare must not be overlooked either. Mass breeding systems are characterized by high stocking density, rapid fattening, and the selection of lines that achieve extreme growth in a short period of time. Such conditions are associated with an increased occurrence of health problems in animals, including deformities, respiratory disorders, and high mortality rates. The industrialization of poultry farming is not only an environmental issue, but also an ethical one.
Clear Demands
Green Squad therefore demands the following: the immediate suspension of all initiated environmental impact assessment procedures until a comprehensive strategic assessment of the cumulative impact of all planned projects is carried out, a review of already issued decisions on the acceptability of the interventions, and a clear statement from the Government of the Republic of Croatia as to whether it supports a development model that entails the concentration of industrial poultry production in a single region.
The development of rural areas must not mean the depletion of local resources, environmental degradation, and a reduction in the quality of life of residents. Sustainability implies the preservation of soil, wate,r and air, the protection of human health, and support for small and medium-sized producers who safeguard the diversity and resilience of domestic agriculture.
The fight against these projects is not a matter of ideology, but of public interest. It concerns the right of communities to decide on the space in which they live, the right to clean water and air, and the responsibility of the state to protect the long-term interests of its citizens over the short-term profit of individual investors.
