In the province of Drenthe, 526 livestock farms do not have the correct nitrogen permit. The province says that an estimated 95 percent of those companies do have an environmental permit, but cannot say for sure. She assumes that there are no illegal livestock farms in Drenthe.
According to the province, the group that does not have a nitrogen permit often has old rights due to permission from before 1994 or 2004. In those years Natura 2000 areas were designated and they received environmental permission. However, the province does not have a clear picture of whether those livestock farms emit too much nitrogen.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Drenthe has a total of 1,723 livestock farms, but according to the province there may be more or less. A small part may have grown from hobby farmer without realizing that they need environmental permission. In addition, there are livestock farmers who no longer keep cattle, but rent out their barns as caravan storage. They are still included in the CBS count as livestock farming.
The province of Drenthe is currently trying to map out all relevant emissions. The province does this on the basis of data from the Regional Implementation Service (RUD), the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) and information that the province itself obtains from the field.
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) do conduct animal counts (May counts), but the province is not allowed to use that data for privacy reasons.
In the province of Flevoland, it was previously found that half of the livestock farms did not know whether they had permission for nitrogen emissions. The province has now hired two officials to get a better picture of this. It is expected to take seven years before Flevoland has clarity from all livestock farms whether they had permission.