ROCK musician and wildlife campaigner Brian May has voiced his opposition to the building of a large pig farm in Co. Antrim.
The former Queen guitarist has said that a plan for a facility to house up to 30,000 pigs on a Newtownabbey farm was "horrific".
May, who founded the animal charity Save Me and has spoken out against badger culls in England, told the Belfast Telegraph that he was opposed to the scale of the development.
He said he was against what he described as "cruel and degrading" animal welfare conditions on "mechanised" farms.
But the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has hit back, saying that a campaign is being orchestrated against the farm and warned that celebrity views from overseas should not be allowed to take precedence over those of people in the North.
Pig farmer and UFU deputy president Ivor Ferguson said: “The views of campaigners like Brian May, Martin Shaw or Jenny Seagrove should not weigh more heavily than those of people who live in the area, or the thousands who work in processing jobs that depend on supplies coming from local farms.”
The UFU has called for science and local legislation to guide the debate on the new state of the art unit, pointing out that, while outdoor pig farms are common in England, the North of Ireland’s wetter climate makes this an impractical option.
Farmer Derek Hall says the proposed facility - potentially the largest in Britain and Ireland - on land near Newtownabbey is required because his existing farm has reached capacity.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council have received 789 letters of objection and will also consider an online petition opposing the development that has received more than 200,000 signatures.
See More: Brian May, Co. Antrim, Featured, Pig Farm
