Chilean authorities have stepped in after half a million pigs in Chile are at risk of starvation following local protests against the world’s largest pig farm. Residents living nearby blockaded roads leading to the site in the Atacama Desert last week, initially in protest against the farm’s smell.

The blockades and subsequent clashes with the police, which saw police cars burned and 23 people arrested, began on 17th May, leading the company to evacuate staff from the farm. The farm can house up to 2.3 million animals, though there were 500,000 animals there at the time of the evacuation.

The situation forced the local governor to declare an environmental alert and bring in inspectors to feed the pigs; following negotiations, staff were allowed to return to the site late on Tuesday.

However, the Chilean health minister Jaime manalich told journalists that many of the animals are believed to have died already from starvation and dehydration. He said that government action was necessary to avert an environmental catastrophe as overflowing waste from the plant's waste treatment unit could have contaminated scarce local drinking water and went on to speculate that the government may close the plant permanently.

The farm in the Huasco Valley has been open for around a year and is operated by Chilean company Agrosuper. Meat from the site supplies half of Chile’s domestic pork demand and is exported to a range of countries, mainly in Asia.

Agrosuper promised to make a statement about the incident, though the company has yet to do so.

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