Rabbit-meat facility rejected by planners

A CONTROVERSIAL application for a rabbit-meat processing facility on a farm in Derbyshire has been turned down by planners.

Derbyshire Dales District Council’s development manager Jon Bradbury concluded the proposed new building at Hognaston would be an “unwarranted and inherently unsustainable form of development in the open countryside”.

Hundreds of people from around the country wrote in with objections to the plans, which also sought permission for a house for an agricultural worker on land owned by rabbit-meat firm T&S Nurseries.

The application sparked a protest by activists outside the gates of the farm, which has been set up on fields off Turlowfields Lane, earlier this year.

But Mr Bradbury said in a rejection letter that the applicant Phil Kerry, who owns other similar farms in the country, has not shown a “functional need” for the house, or “financial sustainability” for the processing building.

Mr Kerry has the option to appeal the decision if he chooses.

The decision was welcomed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Director Elisa Allen said: “This monstrous facility would have turned the flesh of thousands of slaughtered rabbits into pies, pâté, and other “products”.

“These sensitive, playful animals would endure a life of extreme confinement before being killed for their flesh and fur.

“PETA commends the council’s compassionate decision.”