In Spain, a court has ordered state and regional authorities to repair the damage caused by intensive livestock farming in A Limia.
In the area of As Conchas, in the autonomous community of Galicia in north-western Spain, the air is unbreathable and the river basin is severely polluted. The culprit is the hundreds of intensive chicken and pig farms in the A Limia region, which daily contaminate groundwater with nitrates and bacteria, exposing the ecosystem and the local population to serious risks. In a landmark ruling, the Superior Court of Justice of Galicia has decreed that state and regional authorities, by ignoring the problem, have violated the human rights of residents. They are therefore required to remedy the damage caused.
Over the past twenty years, Spain has established itself as Europe's leading producer of pork. Between March 2024 and February 2025, more than 53 million pigs were slaughtered, out of a total of around 220 million per year across the European Union. This rapid and uncontrolled expansion of intensive livestock farming is reshaping the face of rural Spain in particular, given that almost half of all facilities are located in towns with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. These are the so-called sacrifice zones, where economic interests are deemed to take precedence over the health and quality of life of the population.
This is precisely the case in the A Limia area, where there are hundreds of intensive livestock farms. In the Limia river, levels of nitrates — substances that increase the risk of cancer — can exceed permitted limits by a thousandfold. The waters, where cyanobacterial blooms are frequent, have also been found to contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Residents of the area report seemingly inexplicable health problems, nauseating smells in the air, and a deep crisis affecting local economic activity.
The citizens of As Conchas, however, did not stand idly by. Seven of them turned to the courts, together with the As Conchas Neighbourhood Association and an organisation representing consumers, the Federación de consumidores y usuarios (Cecu), and with the support of environmental NGOs ClientEarth and Amigas de la Tierra España. The legal action was brought against the state, regional and municipal authorities of the area. And it ended in a clear victory.
Drawing on both the Spanish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as European and national environmental legislation, the court stated that local authorities had failed to fulfil their legal obligation to protect the population. "Human rights and environmental protection are interdependent. A sustainable environment is necessary for the full enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to life, to an adequate standard of living, to safe drinking water and sanitation, to housing, to participation in cultural life and to development," the ruling states.
As a result, the Xunta de Galicia and the Confederación hidrográfica del Miño-Sil are required to immediately take all necessary measures to put an end to the foul odours and environmental degradation of the As Conchas basin and the surrounding areas. "This historic ruling gives us strength. We will not stop until the basin is once again a place of life, where people can walk, swim and drink without fear. We will continue to put pressure on the authorities to take responsibility and implement real solutions, not empty promises," says Pablo Álvarez Veloso, one of the claimants and president of the neighbourhood association.
But this ruling could change the fate of many other territories. "It is not possible to force local communities to bear the burden of pollution caused by industrial livestock farming. Authorities have a legal obligation to protect the fundamental rights of the population and must honour it," reiterates ClientEarth lawyer Nieves Noval. "We will continue to support people living in sacrifice zones in demanding systemic change in our food systems and in defending their fundamental rights."