In the complaint of those responsible for Behitegi, the company was harmed by the report presented by the groups in the Parliament of Navarra on 10 September 2021. The report consists of 178 pages and according to the environmental groups, only seven are produced by the collectives and the rest are documents from institutions such as the Government of Navarra or from other official sources.

“The intention of the groups that presented the report, the associations say, was to defend the environment and protect the water quality of the neighbours of Marcilla and Villafranca. We also wished to state to the public and to the governments that these models of industrial exploitation are problematic, polluting and unsustainable. And now we see ourselves in the need to deal with a possible judicial process, since the action of reconciliation is a prelude to the judicial process for slander and insults.”

They denounce that for them it is an initiative to intimidate the collectives, “to intimidate our collectives and so that the consequences of this livestock model are not known. This is not new, as many companies resort to the strategy known as SLAPP to denounce entrepreneurs, journalists or researchers.” The aim of companies with a wide range of means and legal protection is to attack small operators on expensive legal timber so that they can withdraw from their investigations and complaints.

Partnerships

The associations complained of are as follows: Alnus, Marcilla Bizirik, Congress on Food Sovereignty, REAS Navarra, Hacendera Association, Lurra Association, Ekologistak Martxan, Urbizi, Etxalde Nekazarien Mugimenduza, Greenpeace, Landare, Mugarik Subgabe

Some 200 people concentrated last Saturday on the Paseo de Sarasate in Pamplona/Iruña to denounce the citation and to state that they will maintain their attitude. In addition, 1,600 people and 162 groups have offered their support to the associations that have been cited to participate in the demonstration. If the parties remain in the conciliation call on Wednesday, the company Valle de Odieta faces judicial proceedings for this reason.