Illinois: Stop Issuing Permits to Pig Farmers Without Checking Environmental Record

It's a horrible sight: a blackened lake from pig waste with dead and dying fish in the middle of Illinois. Illinois is turning into a pigsty, and the government's to blame.

A Chicago Tribune investigation has uncovered that from 2005 to 2014, "pollution incidents from hog confinements killed at least 492,000 fish," and "67 miles of the state's rivers, creeks and waterways" were also affected by pig waste in the same time frame. Poor waste management practices, including "willful," or purposeful, dumping, are to blame, but the real culprit is the government.

The same Tribune investigation reveals that, under law, the Illinois Department of Agriculture cannot check a prospective pig owner's environment track record when issuing a permit. That means that repeat environmental offenders can continue making the same mistakes with little to no consequence. And it needs to stop.

Sign and share this petition urging the Illinois Department of Agriculture to stop blindly issuing permits to all confinement owners without checking important environmental records.

Photo Credit: Prof. Bizzarro