By Wu Yadong (吴亚东), Legal Daily (法制日报), May 17, 2013
The first public interest pollution case in Fujian, concerning a pig farmer causing environmental damage to the surrounding area, may support the fears of some legal experts that environmental courts will focus on small-scale producers rather than targeting large factories and corporations. “I’m just raising some pigs, how did this turn into such a big affair?” asked the defendant, Li Mou, who was brought to the court not by neighbors, but by the Yongchun Dongping Town Economic and Social Affairs Service Center. Without any previous evaluation or consideration of environmental effects, Li established a pig farm in Taiping village. The pigs’ waste was released into a nearby stream, polluting its contents. When the Environmental Protection Bureau asked him to move, he refused. The Service Center raised a lawsuit, and the court found that he was in violation of the livestock cultivation industry pollutant emission standards. Ultimately, Li agreed to close his pig farm, remove the pollution damage to nearby areas, and came to an agreement with the plaintiff.
