ECO-EXTREMISTS THREATEN TO “OCCUPY FARMS” OF DUTCH FARMERS

Radical environmentalists have threatened to occupy Dutch farmers’ land and release their livestock, prompting a police report to be filed by Dutch farming unions, local media has reported.

Dutch farmers have been protesting for several weeks now following the announcement of new climate measures in the Netherlands, with the government aiming to cut nitrogen emissions by as much as 70% overall.

Dutch ministers have already said that this will require some farms to close down, resulting in uproar and mass protests from rural communities throughout the country.

Amid the protests, Dutch news outlet De Telegraaf described this week how eco-activists have seemingly signalled their desire to see the farmers jailed.

“The extreme farming scum must be tracked down and locked up,” one user reportedly said on Facebook.

“They are right-wing nationalists, comparable to Nazis for the animals.”

The user also reportedly urged people to join the “Animal Defence Force.”

“From next week we will occupy livestock farms and free the animals from the mega stables,” they concluded, according to the report.

In response, farming organisation LTO Nederland called farmers to “remain alert to animal extremists.”

“LTO Nederland is concerned about messages circulating on social media from the extremist corner of animal activists calling for barn occupations,” the group wrote in a statement, adding that they take the threatening messages “very seriously.”

They called on farmers “to be vigilant, but also to keep the peace,” and to take reasonable steps to defend their property.

Reportedly, the chairman of the Dutch Union of Poultry Farmers has filed a report with the police over the comments, saying “This is about incitement.”

In May of 2019, dozens of mostly foreign eco-radicals stormed a pig farm in the Dutch region of Brabant, occupying it for ten hours in total. 67 individuals were fined €300 each, and were all given a suspended sentence of 1 week in prison.

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