Overview
- New Gezondheidsraad research reports a 73% higher pneumonia risk within 500 meters of goat farms and 19% within 1 kilometer, estimating about 841 additional cases per year.
- The council recommends extraction systems in stables, strict building limits near homes, and potential contraction of the sector, while no single causal agent has been identified.
- The report’s release was moved up to Monday after NOS disclosed key findings prior to the originally planned Tuesday publication.
- Agriculture minister Wiersma continues to question the need for government action, and Parliament will question her and Health Minister Bruijn on January 14.
- Nine provinces uphold temporary bans on new stables and nearby housing, and the goat industry has presented its own plan to reduce bacterial emissions in a sector centered in North Brabant and Gelderland.