The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has confirmed that 12 large‑scale chicken farms and one pig farm are now the subject of live compliance probes.
Together, they represent a significant chunk of the country’s industrial-scale livestock sector and over 10% of all Scottish sites currently being investigated by the environment regulator.
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The investigations came to light after a freedom of information request asking SEPA to disclose every Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permit currently under investigation, along with the reasons for each case.
A PPC permit is an environmental authorisation that allows certain higher‑risk sites to operate – including large-scale farms with more than 40,000 bird places, 2000 pigs or 750 sows – but only under strict conditions designed to limit pollution.
The response revealed that multiple permits held by major Scottish poultry and pig farms had been flagged for potential breaches, ranging from suspected emissions problems to alleged failures in record‑keeping and site management.
An investigation – of course – does not automatically mean that rules have been broken and The National isn’t aware of any operators that have yet been found liable for offences in connection with these specific permits.
But this cluster of cases involves some of the country’s largest poultry and pig units and is likely to intensify scrutiny of how industrial livestock production is affecting Scotland’s air, water and climate.
It comes after The National previously revealed that large livestock farms helped drive a sharp rise in deadly ammonia emissions in 2024.
SEPA’s latest industrial pollution inventory shows 1033 tonnes of ammonia were released to the air that year – the highest level since 2011 and nearly 30% higher than in 2016.
Agriculture, particularly intensive livestock units, accounts for the vast majority of Scotland’s ammonia pollution, which contributes to harmful fine‑particle smog linked to heart and lung disease.
It’s estimated that ammonia pollution leads to thousands of excess deaths in the UK every year – a large proportion of which could be avoided if ammonia emissions from farms were halved.
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A spokesperson for NFU (National Farmers Union) Scotland said: “We are unable to comment on ongoing investigations but this highlights the level of scrutiny these farms are under.
“PPC rules are comprehensive and exist to protect the environment and it is reassuring that there are cases being investigated; it shows that these units are inspected and the system works.”
A spokesperson for SEPA said: “The Scottish Environment Protection Agency regulates large poultry units under Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (EASR) legislation.
SEPA carries out an ongoing programme of work to verify compliance across a wide range of permitted sites. Where breaches of authorisation are confirmed, SEPA will take action to ensure compliance with permit conditions.”
