This Friday, August 16, the group Mercy For Animals, with Mayan communities and a coalition of organizations, delivered more than 21,000 signatures to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) to demand a pause in the expansion of mega pig farms in Yucatán.
The delivery seeks to promote the request for a Ramsar Mission to evaluate and mitigate the environmental impact on the region’s wetlands.
Mercy For Animals’ SOS Yucatán campaign revealed in March of this year, through drone images, the environmental destruction caused by mega pig farm operations in the Yucatán Peninsula. A year earlier, SEMARNAT had counted 507 possible farms. The organization expanded this figure to 872, identifying errors and omissions in the official count.
The excessive expansion of these industrial farms is exceeding the ecosystem’s capacity for renewal, with overflowing biodigesters and leaks of organic material. The region, rich in ecological reserves and cenotes, faces effects on the quality of water, soil, and air due to pig operations.
In addition to environmental damage, Mayan communities have been dispossessed of their lands, and human rights have been violated, including the right to prior consultation. The Mayan Forest, vital to the state’s biodiversity, cannot support more farms.
In response, Mercy For Animals and its allies are asking SEMARNAT to manage a Ramsar Mission, an international tool that assesses the state of wetlands and recommends conservation measures. This action is crucial to avoid an environmental catastrophe and protect the natural wealth of Yucatán.
TYT Newsroom
