Northern Ireland turning Republic into a ‘toilet’ for excess manure pollution

Officials investigate irregularities in poultry and pig waste exports to Ireland, as ammonia risks turning soil into a wasteland'

Ireland has become a toilet" for cross-border pollution, say campaigners, as officials investigate allegations around the movement of animal manure from Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has the highest stocking density of livestock in the UK, with 25 million poultry birds, and intensive pig numbers at a 10-year high. But the disposal of animal waste and increasing levels of pollution may now halt the expansion of its multi-billion pound export-driven industry.