Saint-Aubin FR hires auxiliary staff 1800 objections to Migros slaughterhouse burden the municipality
Migros subsidiary Micarna is planning a new slaughterhouse in Saint-Aubin FR. The opposition is huge. Thousands of objections are pushing the municipality to its limits.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Residents and environmental associations have lodged over 1,800 objections to the planned poultry slaughterhouse in Saint-Aubin FR.
- Critics fear water pollution, high water consumption, increased traffic and noise and odor nuisance from the new plant.
- The many objections overwhelmed the municipality, which is why four temporary employees were hired.
- Due to the objections and possible legal proceedings, the Micarna factory will not open until 2028 at the earliest.
The Migros Group's planned poultry slaughterhouse in Saint-Aubin FR has been a talking point for weeks - blue News reported on the 1,800 objections lodged this summer against the expansion of the Agrico site on which the meat factory is to be built.
There have also been protests at the existing abattoir in Courtepin FR, which has been supplying Migros stores throughout the country for years. Most of the objections concern the planned Micarna plant, against which environmental associations such as Greenpeace have mobilized throughout Switzerland.
Here are a few figures: The Migros subsidiary is planning investments of up to 300 million Swiss francs. Four production lines with 400 to 500 jobs are planned. In future, around 30 million animals are to be slaughtered there every year.
"This slaughterhouse has no place here"
Many of the objections relate to the additional traffic that such a plant would bring with it. There are concerns that water could be polluted or that water consumption would increase excessively. There are also fears of noise and odor nuisance from the new poultry factory.
Alaric Kohler, a resident of Saint-Aubin, has founded the EcoTransition La Broye association to fight against the project. For him, such a plant does not fit into the rural region: "We are close to an important nature reserve here, water consumption in the region is already high, and this slaughterhouse has no place next to it," he tells SRF.
Environmentalists, who are fundamentally opposed to meat production, are also mobilizing. They are not surprised by the resistance, says the mayor of Saint-Aubin, Michael Willimann.
Migros emphasizes short distances to poultry producers
However, it is clear that such a project would push a community of 2,000 inhabitants to its limits. For this reason, the municipality hired four temporary employees this summer to deal with the administrative work surrounding the numerous objections.
"We now have to see whether we can hold mediation meetings because of the objections," explains Willimann. The client, Migros, emphasizes that all relevant points have been taken into account in the project.
In addition, the new poultry factory is significantly more environmentally friendly than the existing plant in Courtepin: "The location allows us to maintain short distances to the poultry producers," says a spokesperson.
Meat factory to open in 2028 at the earliest
The planned Micarna factory will still cause a lot of work for the municipality of Saint-Aubin. Mayor Michael Willimann says: "We now have to ensure that the planning application takes all these risks into account and complies with the zoning plan."
Even now, there is hardly a day when he doesn't have to deal with this major project. It is to be expected that this situation will continue for a few more years. The first step is to check whether the objections are justified.
The environmental associations have already announced that they will take legal action if their objections are rejected. The new Micarna factory in Saint-Aubin will not go into operation until 2028 at the earliest.
