A MASSIVE poultry farm that will house over 450,000 hens in the hinterland has been approved by the Sunshine Coast Council.
The proposal, lodged by Woodlands Poultry Farm at Beerburrum in September last year, was approved by all but two councillors during an ordinary meeting following the delivery of the council’s first every $1 billion budget.
Division 1 Councillor, Rick Baberowski, said he was opposed to the project on environmental concerns, while also raising moral issues, comparing it to a proposed puppy farm in 2021.
“The proposed development departs from the purpose of the overall outcome, as adverse environmental impacts are not avoided or appropriately managed in the proposal,” he said.
“This is not an unknown path for us, in October 2021, this chamber refused an application for a puppy farm designed for the mass breeding of dogs confined to small spaces and subsequent sale… we did this in large due to the planning scheme considerations of scale and intensity.
“In that case, the scale was dozens to hundreds of dogs. In the application before you now, has 452,000 animals at any one time, potentially 2 million per year, kept in far higher densities in artificial and stressful conditions for the whole of their lives.”
Councillor Jason O’Pray was also against the proposal.
Woodlands said it was aiming to capitalise on the booming demand for chicken products.
The proposal for its Red Road, Broiler Farm 12 includes increasing shed numbers from four to 10, which would increase hen numbers from 172,500 to 452,640.
Woodlands has been operating in the region since the 1970s and employs about 180 people across the company.
The company said odour and noise reports showed there would be minimal adverse impact on surrounding properties.
“The proposed sheds have been purposefully designed and located to integrate with the existing development and minimise the potential for any adverse impacts for surrounding land or properties,” the report stated.
“The sheds are of a similar scale to that which lawfully exists onsite and are within proximity of the existing development footprint as much as reasonably possible to minimise any clearing.”