The farming of pigs and poultry is causing “huge” damage to the British countryside, says a new independent report from The Wildlife Trusts.

It says it’s the first time that the impact on the ecosystem from farming these animals has been investigated. The report says that:

• Growing food for these animals takes up a lot of land – a third of all the wheat crop grown in the UK goes to feeding pigs and poultry. The chemicals in the fertiliser and pesticides used to grow these crops put other wildlife at risk, too.
• The farming of pigs and poultry produces 10.4 million cubic metres of waste per year. That’s enough to fill 4,160 Olympic swimming pools.
• Most of the UK’s pigs and poultry are farmed in just a handful of regions, which pollutes the environment and rivers in those areas.

Barnaby Coupe from The Wildlife Trusts says that the government needs to step in to “support farmers” to use less polluting methods.

However, pig and poultry farming groups have rejected the report. Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, said that his industry carefully considers its impact on wildlife and the environment, and that the report “shows a lack of understanding of how we feed the nation”.