'Urgent action' call from River Wye campaigners

Campaigners say urgent action is needed to clean up the River Wye

Campaigners say the government is failing to stop waste from free-range egg farms polluting the River Wye in Herefordshire.

A freedom of information request by the charity River Action showed that 19 of the 47 free-range egg farms visited had drains which ran near to watercourses such as streams and rivers.

The visits were carried out by conservation charity the Wye and Usk Foundation.

It is working with farmers and the Environment Agency, which says it is offering support to transition to more sustainable practices.

Campaigners say soil and muck running into the water can cause pollution.

The Environment Agency says it carried out 493 farm inspections and issued 285 improvement actions from 1 April to 31 December 2023.

A spokesperson said: “We recognise the River Wye is under pressure, which is why we are already offering a wide range of support to farmers around the river to speed up their transition to more sustainable practices."

"We work closely with groups like the Wye and Usk Foundation, who provide advice to farmers."

Last May, the river status was downgraded by Natural England after a decline in species such as Atlantic Salmon and white-clawed crayfish.

Campaign groups such as 'Save The Wye' say intensive farming and sewage pollution causes algae which deprives wildlife of oxygen.

Next month, River Action will take on the Environment Agency in the courts.

The charity claims the government body has failed to protect the River Wye from agricultural pollution.

"The scandal of the additional pollution being caused by the intensive free range egg industry is another sorry chapter in the story of the river’s decline,” says Charles Watson, the charity's founder.

Anglers say there are 'worrying numbers' of Atlantic Salmon in the River Wye

Angling group, the Wye Salmon Association, has appealed to the Environment Minister Steve Barclay to act now to save the fish from extinction.

They’ve recorded the lowest catch numbers on the river since their records began in 1956.

“The devastating situation has been on the cards for years," said their chairman Stuart Smith.

"Soon there won’t be any salmon left to research.”

Fish Legal, which has its headquarters in Leominster, Herefordshire, has also submitted a legal complaint against Natural Resources Wales, accusing the Welsh regulator of failing to protect the River Wye from agricultural pollution.

The group works alongside the Angling Trust and has 20 thousand members.

The Wye and Usk Foundation charity is working with free-range egg suppliers to reduce the risk of pollution.

Suppliers to Noble Foods, which owns the Happy Egg brand, are introducing wetland schemes to try to reduce the impact of farm pollution.