Guernsey egg farm faces closure and culling

Environmental Health alleges Castel Farm Eggs Limited is behind the fly infestation

Advocates acting for a Guernsey egg farm have warned that closing it would mean the killing of 12,000 birds.

Mark Dunster, acting for Castel Farm Eggs, said Health and Social Care (HSC) wanted to close the farm on Friday.

Law officers for HSC alleged the cause of a recent infestation of flies in the St Andrews and St Martins area was excrement from birds at the farm.

Environmental Health is looking to fine the business for not adhering to an enforcement order.

Advocate Mark Dunster said if the farm does close 12,000 birds would have to be culled

Last year it imposed an order to make sure the moisture levels of the chicken excrement in the henhouses did not exceed 40%.

The notice was served on 19 December 2022 asking Castel Farm Eggs "to achieve and maintain moisture level of 40% within the entire depth of the excrement within the four henhouses at the premises within 119 days."

Environmental Health is alleging this order was breached and that when an officer visited on 26 May 2023, there were a large number of flies.

Advocate Dunster said if the farm does close 12,000 birds would have to be culled and with the States of Guernsey's incinerator currently broken, it would mean the carcasses would have to be kept on site.

He's also warned that the island would need to import more eggs, which he said "is in complete contradiction to the aim to reduce carbon emissions, and further of reduced food security."

The Law Officer acting for Health and Social Care, Advocate Rachel Donaldson said last year between May and September last year Environmental Health had received 34 separate complaints about flies in peoples homes.

This year Environmental Health has said there have been six complaints about the issue so far.

In her submission to the court Advocate Donaldson alleged an independent entomologist had found the cause of the flies to be excrement from birds at Castel Farm Eggs.

In a letter to Guernsey's court, Advocate Dunster said the business had offered to close "on a measured basis."

He added that Castel Farm Eggs "has been keen to work with OEPHR and has complied to the extent it has been able to with the notice" to reduce moisture levels in excrement.

But that "Environmental Health has not allowed time to pass, in particular the naturally drier summer month, in order to see whether the overall effect of compliance with all of the action points in the Notice results in decreased moisture and flies."

The fact an egg farm has been in that location for a long time was also put forward by Advocate Dunster, to push back on the action from Environmental Health.

"Plainly, there are insufficient grounds to refer to the Farm's operations as a nuisance, having regard to the fact that the farm has been in operation for far longer than many of the surrounding residential homes have been in situ."

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