On Saturday 19 September, a protest was held in Ludbreg against the planned construction of a chicken farm by Perutnina Ptuh in the suburban area of Apatija, as well as against the spread of industrial megafarms and slaughterhouses across Croatia. The protest was organised by the Apatija Civic Initiative and drew around 300 residents from the wider Ludbreg area and the Varažbin County, as well as from the Međimurje, Koprivnica-Križevci, Sisačko-Moslavačka and Lika-Senj counties, and other parts of Croatia.
A travelling exhibition titled 'The True Cost of Megafarms' was opened ahead of the protest on Trg Svetog Trojstva (Square of the Holy Trinity) in Ludbreg. The organizers warned that Apatija was not an isolated case, but part of a much wider problem: two foreign investors are planning more than 20 megafarms and slaughterhouses, with a combined capacity exceeding 200 million chickens per year. They highlighted that the projects are being assessed individually, without a comprehensive view of their cumulative impact on water resources, soil, traffic, emissions of harmful gases, and the generation of large quantities of manure and wastewater.
The planned megafarm in Apatija is set to have an annual capacity of over three million chickens. For the local residents, the construction of ten facilities for intensive chicken farming, with a total capacity of 558,210 chickens per cycle, remains unacceptable. This represents more than 10 per cent of production in Croatia. The Apatija Civic Initiative states that the business plan, on the basis of which the purchase agreement was concluded with the City of Ludbreg, stated 370,000 chickens per cycle, whereas the 2026 elaboration states 558,210 chickens, an increase of more than 50 per cent.
The planned farm is located approximately 400 metres from the settlement and the homes, and from the Bednja river. Residents warn of potential consequences for the air, water, soil, public health, traffic, and the quality of life, as well as the future of local agricultural production. A petition was circulated, signed by 2,926 citizens, of whom 47 per cent of the signatures were collected from the area of the city of Ludbreg, which constitutes more than 18 per cent of the local electorate. The petition called for the cancellation of the purchase agreement for the land on which the farm was planned, but the ruling majority in the City Council did not accept this.
Kristina Stanko from the Apatija Civic Initiative stated that they would not stop fighting against the construction of the farm. Vinko Stanko, whose house is closest to the land where the farm is planned, stated that they were initially told that there would be orchards there, and that the land was sold without it being made clear to them how it was planned to be used. Support for the protesters was given by Luka Oman, president of the Friends of Animals Association. Friends of Animals and Green Action urge citizens to inform themselves about the consequences of such projects, pointing out that part of the planned measures have already been withdrawn following public pressure, but that they will not stop until the last planned megafarm and slaughterhouse is halted.
