An occupation of a pig farm in the Netherlands was terminated by the police after an hour, according to a report in the Dutch media.
The action was organised by Meat the Victims, the protest group that targeted a Lincolnshire farm in early March when 100 people occupied a sow house for most of the day and a similar number protested outside.
Dutch news outlet AD said the action near Boxtel was quickly terminated by order of the mayor. A mobile unit of police entered the shed being occupied to remove the activists, with a number of arrests made.
Dutch pig farmers came together to launch a counter demonstration as the action was taking place. That was quickly ended, too, according to the report.
‘Meat the Victims’ said they wanted the occupation to draw attention to poor animal welfare they claim was kept hidden from Dutch society. A spokesperson said many animals on the farm were ‘in a bad way’.
Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) described the occupation as ‘unacceptable’ on Twitter She said farmers should be able to do their work ‘without having to constantly look over their shoulder and be intimidated’.
Marc Calon, chairman of agricultural organization LTO Netherlands said he wants to consult with the responsible ministers as soon as possible. “At a given moment it is enough. And that moment has been reached. It is simply outrageous what happens. ”
He expressed anger at the years of smear campaigns ‘by extremist animal welfare organisations against farmers’.