Overview
- Hundreds to about 2,500 farmers gathered at the Provinciehuis in Den Bosch on Friday to protest a provincial plan to withdraw the permits of five poultry farms accused of harming nearby Natura 2000 sites.
- Tractor columns created long traffic queues on the A59, A2 and N279, and a multi‑vehicle collision in the tail of a queue on the A59 near Heesch killed two people and injured others; police are investigating the crash.
- Police Oost‑Brabant had signalled they would not stop tractors from using motorways unless roads were blocked, a stance sharply criticized by Prime Minister Rob Jetten and other ministers and now set for review by local authorities and the cabinet.
- Organisers including Farmers Defence Force, Agractie, LTO, ZLTO and NAJK ran the protest, supplied on‑site logistics and later urged participants to avoid motorways, though tractor columns still used the A2 and caused further disruption.
- The province says permit withdrawal followed a court order and failed mitigation plans, Agriculture Minister Jaimie van Essen has asked for another chance for the five farmers, and officials must now decide next enforcement steps amid political and legal fallout.