There is absolutely no confidence in any technical solutions to reduce the consequences of goat farming on the Boekelterweg. Barn doors open and close, feed must be brought, manure must be removed: our health is again threatened. Health is very important to make decisions with inappropriate and outdated regulations now. According to the RIVM, people who live within a two-kilometre radius around a goat farm have an additional chance of contracting pneumonia. Fear of Q fever is great in Boegel.
Impossible choice
Helly Mulkenbahn herself lives one kilometer from the company in question. After all, we, the locals, are faced with an impossible choice: to move from a beautiful place so dear to us. For some, this means letting go of a hundred years of family property, where our fourth-generation neighbors are allowed to live. Our investment in the house and garden is increasing because of the smoke, because a goat farm in the area leads to a decrease in its value from 50,000 to 100,000 euros. For all houses located in an area of 2 km, you will end up with a capital destruction of 4 – 7.5 million euros.
End of life work
She noted the consequences for the nature of camping in Bekhofschans. For the Peters family, it meant the end of life’s work. An undeserved personal drama and a huge financial loss for the family. Who wants to camp next to a goat farm? However, Healey Mulkenbahn and her supporters took hope from the council’s decision to block new applications from arriving. But the application for an environmental permit from Boijl had already been submitted before this decision, and therefore it has already been processed.
License destruction
However, a decision by the North Holland District Court provides opponents with something to keep. In May, the administrative court revoked the permit for a goat farm in the municipality of Groningen in Het Hoge Land. The court stated that an environmental impact assessment should have been conducted there due to the potential impacts on the public health of the local population. The judge noted that the request was processed when it was already known that research was being conducted on the health risks. The court also took into account in its considerations that shortly after this permit was granted, the municipality declared a moratorium on the establishment or expansion of goat farms.
