Reports claim Dutch police have also opened fire on the crowds
Dutch
farmers are spraying sh*t on government buildings in protest against the current leadership and new measures that are forcing the industry to roll back operations and shut some businesses entirely.
As a result, the nation's farmers have been organising
mass protests across the region, obstructing supermarkets,
airport terminals, and distribution centres, as well as closing down some roads and motorways entirely with large-scale blockades.
Oh, and as mentioned, they've also been spraying liquid manure all over government property:
https://twitter.com/JamesMelville/status/1543837782677880832?s=20&t=uPyqqfyYFZR0SKpzVJfM_A
The government recently announced plans for a
£22bn programme to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia - the primary gasses produced by livestock - across the Netherlands by 2030.
While the environmental motivation behind the move is obviously being encouraged, the emission targets and livestock cuts, specifically, are being deemed far too harsh, with cuts reaching from 30-70 in many areas. Around nature reserves, the figures are closer to 95 per cent, meaning some farms will close entirely as they simply would be unable to comply.
In response to the proposals, thousands across the country have been marching on government buildings and occupying territory in surrounding areas and along main roads. The turnout from those in and outside the industry has been quite noticeable.
https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1544316891547574274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1544316891547574274%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.joe.co.uk%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php
Recent reports have confirmed that
Dutch police have opened fire on tractor-riding farmers participating in the protests, several of which began on Tuesday evening in the north of the country.
Friesland Police say they were responding to a "threatening situation" when the farmers, who were attempting to push past a blockade to get onto a highway in the province, started to drive their tractors towards officers and their vehicles. Footage of large crowds shared online also claims that a young boy was shot during an incident in the city of Leeuwarden
.
https://twitter.com/RadioGenova/status/1544677903442534400?s=20&t=uPyqqfyYFZR0SKpzVJfM_A
Local authorities have confessed that shots were fired and did hit tractors but insisted that no one was injured. Three suspects were arrested at the scene and Rijksrecherche (the Dutch government's internal investigator) said it will look into the events and determine whether officers should have discharged their weapons.
Nevertheless, it would seem that their protesting is proving effective so far, as images of empty supermarket shelves are circulating on social media and demonstrators state they have
no intention of stopping.
https://twitter.com/RadioGenova/status/1544330346124255233?s=20&t=EdrZvh623sZOe2sF0uZ0ig
Moreover, people on social media have been inspired by the surreal scenes across the country, with many noting the current moment as a reminder that there are ways to protest against politicians and those with money and power other than simply standing with a placard and chanting.
Again, spraying sh*t all over their gaff is one way to do it.
https://twitter.com/Gritty20202/status/1544697783374020609?s=20&t=EdrZvh623sZOe2sF0uZ0ig
https://twitter.com/Adrian_Hilton/status/1542593744825946114?s=20&t=EdrZvh623sZOe2sF0uZ0ig
https://twitter.com/MartinDaubney/status/1544635367810387973?s=20&t=EdrZvh623sZOe2sF0uZ0ig
Similar protests have actually taken place across the
Netherlands before, as Dutch farmers railed against the previous round of updated nitrogen policies around town squares in The Hague back in November 2020.
In fact, these kinds of demonstrations have been happening every year
since 2019, when the government first began cracking down on emissions and those in the agricultural sector organised a procession of tractors to cause huge traffic jams during the peak of rush hour.
[caption id="attachment_346733" align="alignnone" width="2048"]
Credit: Getty[/caption]
While the UK may have already got a rare win following the announcement that
Boris Johnson will resign as Prime Minister following innumerable scandals, many will be quite rightly wondering whether he could have been gotten rid of sooner had the people taken more demonstrative actions like this.
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