One year ago the Tribunal Superior de Xustiza de Galicia recognized for the first time in Europe the violation of fundamental rights due to industrial livestock pollution. The ruling is now final after the Supreme Court dismissed appeals.
The As Conchas community has spent 15 years denouncing the degradation of its reservoir caused by discharges from more than 300 large-scale pig farms along the Limia River. In 2023 the area held nearly two million pigs in a territory of about 25,000 inhabitants.
The Superior Court issued the ruling on 11 July 2025. Five months later the Supreme Court dismissed appeals from the Xunta de Galicia and the Miño-Sil Hydrographic Confederation, making the decision final and enforceable.
The courts require the administrations to adopt immediate measures to end odors and environmental degradation. They must also ensure the supply of clean and safe drinking water.
With the arrival of heat new toxicity outbreaks have appeared. Authorities must prohibit recreational uses of the water to protect public health.
