A Spanish court has made a crucial ruling today regarding a landmark case on livestock megapollution in the region of Galicia.
In a legal first, Spanish citizens launched court action earlier this year against national and regional authorities over intensive pig-rearing.
The residents say the mismanagement of pollution from decades of industrial pig farming has made life in their community “unfeasible” - and is putting their health at risk.
The High Court of Galicia has now confirmed that Spanish national and regional authorities have breached residents’ human rights according to both the Spanish Constitution and European human rights law.
The court ruled that authorities have failed to manage record levels of pollution from hundreds of pig and poultry farms in the A Limia region.
The Xunta de Galicia and the Miño-Sil River Basin Authority have been ordered to immediately adopt all necessary measures to guarantee the end of the odours and environmental degradation of the As Conchas reservoir and its surroundings, restoring the full enjoyment of the right to life.
Pig farms have turned the town into a ‘dungheap’
The ruling is a critical step in recognising that the devastating impacts of industrial agriculture are not just policy issues - they are human rights issues.
Years of unexplained health complaints, severe algal blooms and acute odour pollution in the A Limia region of Galicia left businesses floundering and locals fearful to leave their homes.
The culprits are the hundreds of intensive pig and poultry farms operating thanks to rubber-stamp approvals from the local authority.
The pollution from these livestock operations has made residents too afraid to drink water from their local wells or open their windows for fear of the stench.
As Friends of the Earth representative Blanca Ruibal, who has been supporting the case, succinctly puts it, “[the town] has become a dungheap.”
Court finds A Limia residents are ‘undeniably experiencing ongoing moral harm’
Seven affected residents, the Neighbourhood Association of As Conchas and the Confederation of Users and Consumers (CECU) were supported by ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth to take the case to court, bringing a claim against multiple local authorities, including the Xunta de Galicia and water authorities.
During the court hearings, scientists corroborated their suspicions about the extent of the pollution, presenting evidence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs - considered one of the top ten threats to humanity.
They also found serious nitrate contamination in the reservoir water (at times reaching levels of up to 1,000x higher than typical levels).
Nitrates are a well-known risk factor for numerous cancers, including thyroid, breast and ovarian cancer.
In the landmark ruling, published today, the court said:
“Human rights and environmental protection are interdependent. A sustainable environment is necessary for the full enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to life, to an adequate standard of living, to drinking water and sanitation, to housing, to participation in cultural life and to development.
“Residents of the village of As Conchas who live in the affected area are found to be in a serious situation concerning their enjoyment of daily life. This includes the presence of foul odours, the risk of aerosol exposure, contamination of private wells to levels that render them unusable, loss of property value, and a severe potential health risk… the court finds that they are undeniably experiencing ongoing moral harm.”
‘This historic ruling makes us stronger’
This case ruling on the impact of agriculture-compromised water on people’s fundamental rights is the first of its kind, drawing on both the Spanish constitution and European law to demonstrate that public authorities did not meet their legal obligation to protect people – including from harmful pollution.
“After so many years of tireless struggle, of being abandoned and ignored by those who were supposed to protect us, today we have finally been heard,” Pablo Álvarez Veloso, president of the local neighbourhood association and a claimant in the case, said.
“The High Court of Justice of Galicia has recognised what we have been denouncing for so long: our rights have been violated due to the inaction of the authorities against the pollution from industrial livestock farming.”
He added that the historic ruling “makes us stronger”, and the community won’t stop until the reservoir “becomes a place of life once again - a place where we can walk, swim, and drink water without fear”.
Lawyers say the case now paves the way for suffering communities to bring replica suits across Europe, to demand justice and protection from their authorities.
