Poultry Industry Responds To AG's Claims
US - The poultry industry on Thursday defended its practice of spreading chicken litter as fertilizer and called the state's court effort to prohibit it "a PR stunt.”
16 November 2007
2 minute read
"Contrary to his claims, there is no ‘imminent and substantial endangerment' to public health."
Jackie Cunningham, spokeswoman for the Poultry Community Council
The industry's response came one day after Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson requested a federal injunction to stop the spreading of chicken litter in the Illinois River watershed.
Does it endanger people?
Edmondson said the long-standing practice jeopardizes the health of people in four counties along the Arkansas state line who rely on underground water wells. Also at risk are the 155,000 people per year who swim or canoe down the Illinois River and its tributaries, Edmondson's court brief states.
Jackie Cunningham, spokeswoman for the Poultry Community Council, called Edmondson's claims "scare tactics and exaggerations.”
"Contrary to his claims, there is no ‘imminent and substantial endangerment' to public health from the safe, government-regulated practice of using poultry manure as a fertilizer. If there were, Oklahoma's own state officials who monitor the river and protect the health of Oklahoma's citizens surely would have addressed it,” Cunningham said in a statement.
Further Reading
 |
- Go to our previous news item on this story by clicking here. |
