Campaigners hold 'vomiting' protest at Moy Park

The protest, which involved campaigners 'vomiting' green sludge was meant to represent blue-green algae in Lough Neagh

Environmental campaigners held a protest on Sunday outside the Moy Park factory in Craigavon, County Armagh.

The protest, organised by Slí Eile who describe themselves as an anti-capitalist climate action group, involved protesters simulating vomiting outside the factory.

The group said more than 100 activists took part in the action to highlight "the major role of factory farming in killing Lough Neagh and accelerating climate breakdown".

Moy Park said scientists had identified a number of causes of algae blooms on Lough Neagh.

A BBC investigation found Moy Park had breached environmental laws in the way it discharged waste

"It is a complex issue not specifically linked to any one sector," a spokesperson said.

"For its part, the poultry industry is highly regulated with strict limits set for waste water quality at all NI facilities.

"Moy Park undertakes regular review, testing and monitoring of all trade effluent discharges.

"We are continuing to work with the regulator on measures to further improve facility wastewater quality."

Moy Park supplies branded and own label chicken products to retailers and foodservice providers throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe.

It was Northern Ireland’s largest business by turnover last year, analysis for Ulster Business magazine suggested.

In June, a BBC investigation found the company had breached environmental laws in the way it discharged waste.

Documents filed with Stormont’s Department for the Environment, Agriculture and Rural Affairs show the company has breached legal limits on hundreds of occasions across three different sites in Northern Ireland.

Dr Laura Kehoe from Slí Eile said corporations were "maximising their profit margins at the literal cost of the Earth"

The discovery was made as part of a wider BBC investigation into pollution at Lough Neagh.

The UK's largest freshwater lough has been blighted by blooms of toxic blue-green algae.

Sunday's protest, which involved campaigners 'vomiting' green sludge, was meant to represent this blue-green algae.

Speaking after the protest, Dr Laura Kehoe, an environmental scientist and member of Slí Eile, said industrial animal agriculture was "not only the main cause of the catastrophe at Lough Neagh, but also the number one cause of greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution and biodiversity collapse across Ireland".

"We simply cannot continue with the extreme harm caused by corporations maximising their profit margins at the literal cost of the Earth,” she added.