Poultry farm fined over 'plague of flies’

The operator of a Devon poultry unit has been ordered to pay more than £8,000 in fines and costs after it caused an 'explosion' in the local fly population. The case was brought by the Environment Agency.

On June 29 2009 two Agency officers visited Worden Farm, Milton Damerel, to discuss complaints about flies. They were accompanied by officers from the Environmental Health department of Torridge District Council. The farm is run by W J Watkins & Son Ltd and consists of five buildings housing some 390,000 chickens.

On arriving at the farm the officers were met by what they described as a ‘plague’ of flies. One of the Agency officers  said he had to continuously swat insects away from his face as he was speaking to a site manager. During the meeting the operator disclosed it had changed the type of chicken feed used at the unit. The new feed, which contained sunflower seeds and a higher level of soya acid oil, caused the chicken faeces to have a much higher moisture content. This had created ideal breeding conditions for flies.

Chicken manure from the unit is used by local farmers as a fertiliser and spread on surrounding fields. The company routinely treat manure with a chemical called Neporex which can prevent the larvae from developing into adult flies. They also employ additional fly control measures at the farm. However, these failed to control the explosion in fly numbers in June 2009.

Earlier in the year poultry manure had been removed from Worden Farm and spread on farmland around Milton Damerel. Around the same time Torridge District Council and the Environment Agency started receiving calls from distressed residents who found large numbers of flies in their homes.

Alison Gidlow, for the Environment Agency, said:

“This was a huge fly infestation that caused major distress to the local residents and businesses of Milton Damerel. The operator failed to notify the Agency of the problems it was experiencing as required under a condition of its permit.

“Poultry litter should be regularly inspected to ensure it does not become excessively wet and a breeding ground for flies. Appropriate steps should be taken to deal with any problem. Failure to do so can cause the local fly population to escalate to ‘plague’ proportions.

“Once we were aware of the scale of the problem we worked with the operator to isolate the fly-affected manure by covering it in plastic sheeting to prevent more flies from hatching. The fly problem at the farm was brought under control within a few days of our visit.”

W J Watkins & Son Ltd was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £2,100 costs by Barnstaple magistrates for failing to notify the Environment Agency of any malfunction, breakdown or failure of equipment or techniques that might adversely effect the environment. The company pleaded guilty to breaching a condition of its Environmental Permit.