Hundreds of poultry farms in Poland operate without the required environmental permits and therefore remain largely out of sight of regulators. Research by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) shows that these are 'ghost companies', which hardly exist on paper. But in reality, these ghost chicken farmers keep animals on a large scale, including for export.
The problem goes beyond administrative sloppiness. Because these companies are not properly registered, these 'ghost chicken farmers' often remain out of sight of supervision. Different bodies point at each other, so that supervision is lacking. There is often a lack of central responsibility, which means that control becomes fragmented in practice. Because what is not in the system simply does not exist.
Ghost chicken farmers
However, the consequences are not phantoms. There are known cases in which significantly more animals are kept than allowed. There are also signs of illegal discharges and water pollution, with bacteria such as E. coli being found in surrounding areas. Local residents, including children, are said to have developed health problems as a result.
The risks are also high within the farms themselves. Due to the large number of animals close together and the lack of supervision, the risk of disease outbreaks increases. To control this, intensive poultry farming often uses antibiotics, which are subject to strict rules.
Antibiotics
According to a recent report by the European Medicines Agency, Poland ranks second in the EU in terms of total sales of antibiotics for veterinary use. According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, this means that an average broiler chicken in Poland receives three to four courses of antibiotics during its short life of about six weeks and is therefore under treatment for almost half of its life.
This raises questions about resistance and its broader public health implications. For example, salmonella can become resistant to antibiotics. Recent EU audits also point to serious shortcomings in the control of this bacterium in Poland. It is striking that official figures on infections are considerably higher than the figures reported by producers themselves, which raises the question of whether the true extent of the problem is fully understood.
Out of the picture, no supervision
Although European regulations were tightened in 2022 to reduce the risk of so-called 'superbugs', research shows that the use of antibiotics that are crucial for human healthcare actually increased on Polish poultry farms in 2023. At the same time, monitoring is lagging behind the rapid growth of the sector, partly due to staff shortages and limited resources at inspection services.
Increasing the number of animals in more intensive farming not only increases the risk of resistance, but also of the spread of other diseases, such as bird flu. Between 2021 and 2023, almost two hundred outbreaks were registered in Poland. In one case, contaminated turkey meat was even exported to other EU countries before the contamination was discovered.
Animal welfare
At the same time, what goes on within these companies remains largely out of the picture. This naturally raises the question: what does this mean for the animals themselves? If it is not clear how many animals there are, their welfare will also remain completely out of the picture. Exactly how many animals are kept, under what conditions and with what care, is often unclear. It is precisely this invisibility that makes the situation worrying.
Although there is no insight into these ghost farms, it is known what the conditions in intensive poultry farming usually look like. Chickens live in their thousands in enclosed barns, with little or no room to show natural behaviour. Even under regular supervision, their well-being is already under pressure. What this means for animals on farms that operate outside that supervision is anyone's guess and certainly not reassuring.
Not a far from my bed show
The fact that ghost chicken farmers are not a local problem is evident from Poland's role as one of the largest producers and exporters of poultry meat and eggs in Europe. A large part of this production is for export and also ends up on European plates, including in Dutch supermarkets.
Although the situation in Poland is striking because of its size, signs of underregistration and exceeding numbers are also known closer to home. In the Netherlands, for example, outbreaks of bird flu revealed cases in which more turkeys were kept than allowed.
System too vulnerable
A system that depends on registration, but at the same time leaves room to operate out of sight, is by definition vulnerable. Because what does not officially exist, you cannot control. And if this is not enforced, it can continue to exist, regardless of the consequences for animals, people and the environment.
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©AnimalsToday.nl Mariska van Geelen
