Tips for writing to MPs or Councillors about concerns regarding factory farms. Key recommendations include being clear and direct, focusing on local issues, using plain language, sharing personal stories, maintaining politeness while being firm in requests, and following up if necessary.
- Be clear and direct: Say what you’re concerned about and what you want them to do, ideally in the first few lines.
- Keep it local: Mention your connection to the area and why it matters to you or your community.
- Stick to the facts: Focus on real, tangible harms: pollution, health risks, animal welfare, climate impacts.
- Avoid jargon: You don’t need to be a policy expert. Plain language and local knowledge go a long way.
- Make it personal: Briefly share why this matters to you. Local stories stick with people more than statistics.
- Be polite but firm: Ask for a clear action: oppose the farm, attend a meeting, raise the issue, etc.
- Follow up: If you don’t hear back, send a reminder or ask for a meeting.
Template: Email to MP or councillor about a proposed or existing factory farm
Subject: Urgent: Environmental and Public Health Concerns Over Local Factory Farm
Dear [MP’s/Councillor’s Name],
I’m writing as a constituent [or: local resident of X] to raise urgent concerns about [the proposed / existing] intensive livestock unit (ILU) at [location or planning reference if known].
This type of industrial-scale factory farm poses serious risks to our local environment, public health, animal welfare, and the climate. In particular, I am deeply concerned about:
- Pollution of local rivers and groundwater due to nitrogen runoff and waste mismanagement
- Air quality impacts from ammonia and odour emissions
- Biodiversity loss through habitat damage and nitrogen overload
- The use of imported feed crops linked to deforestation and land grabs overseas
- Ongoing investigations into poor animal welfare standards in similar UK facilities
This model of farming does not constitute sustainable development as per the aims of planning. It is not necessery to expand the intensive livestock industry any further in the UK. The UK already produces more meat and dairy than is necessery for a healthy and sustainable diet, but not enough vegetables, pulses, or legumes. According to the government's latest food security report, the rapid expansion of livestock is threatening food security in the UK and globally, mainly because it requires large areas of land, water and pesticides for the production of feed, land which could be much more efficiently used to produce food directly for humans or for nature recovery. Intensive poultry and pig farming undermines local farmers, shifts power to global agribusinesses, and leaves communities with the environmental fallout.
I’m asking you to:
- Publicly oppose this development, or speak out about its risks
- Contact the planning department to request a review of the application (or operating permit)
- Support greater transparency and public involvement in decisions around intensive farming
If you are not familiar with the scale or consequences of these sites, I would be very happy to share more information, reports, or connect you with residents impacted directly.
Regards
