Woman Living near Factory Farm in Lescout, France

Near the village of Lescout there is a big hen factory farm, currently farming 185,000 hens. The hen factory farm that is affecting the small village of Lescout is located close to a castle belonging to Catherine Gavelle. Catherine, 57 years old, is an architect that has lived in the castle since 2012. It is a historic building listed within the ABF (Architectes des Bâtiments de France, a national heritage institution). The factory farm is located about 300 meters away. According to Catherine, the noise and smell coming from the fans of the factory farm, blowing in the direction of the village, affect her daily life. Catherine believes such farms should not exist. She said: “I think this type of factory farm should have never been constructed in the first place. There should not be the authorisation to construct an industrial building alongside a village and next to a listed building and by the national heritage institution. This factory farm has affected my life with its visual, its noise and its smell.”