Caretaker agriculture minister Femke Wiersma has reversed a rule on manure production that would have ensured a cut in the numbers of farmed chickens and pigs in the Netherlands.

In a briefing sent to parliament this week, she said the government had decided that farmers selling their animal rights outside the family would no longer have to forfeit part of them – a measure intended to gradually reduce the number of farmed animals because of their environmental impact.

The Netherlands currently has a population of just over 18 million and more than 118 million chickens and 6.5 million pigs. The manure produced by animals has made a major contribution to nitrogen-based compounds such as ammonia into the local environment, damaging protected wildlife areas and water quality.

For years, the country had a special exemption from European rules on spreading manure on the land – known as a “derogation” – but this has now come to an end. The forfeit of animal rights on the sale of farms was intended to help the country fall within the European limits. Wiersma, from the agricultural BBB party, wants to reverse the rule this year.

According to a law that is due to be voted upon in October, milk farmers would lose 30% of their production rights if they sold to a non-family member, pig farmers would lose 22% of their animal rights and poultry farmers 13%.

The agriculture minister said on X that other measures to buy up animal farms are “having an effect” and so the sale measure is unnecessary, according to the FD. It will remain valid for milk farmers but be scrapped for poultry and pig farms.

No vote is necessary, but if other parties wish to protest there is limited parliamentary time before a recess begins on October 3. A general election takes place on October 29.