Animal rights activists have set up a petition against plans for a new pig farm in Kettering.
Cranford Power wants to build a unit to rear and finish 800 pigs at a time on land west of the A510.
But campaigners from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) say the site will cause a number of problems including ‘strong odours’ which will disturb local residents and affect air quality and ’intense’ A510 traffic.
The petition reads: "After hearing that a new pig farm condemning up to 1,600 pigs at any one time to lives of misery could be built on land west of the A510 in Cranford, almost 20,000 concerned PETA supporters, including many local residents, have signed a petition to Kettering Borough Council to urge its planning department to reject the application."
PETA Director Elisa Allen said: "From the noise of the traffic to the knowledge that thousands of sensitive pigs would suffer inside filthy sheds, the facility would be a blight on Cranford’s landscape and its reputation.
"If Kettering Borough Council visited one of these intensive farms and saw the terrified animals, heard their screams, and smelled the putrid stench of ammonia and faeces, it would surely refuse permission for this hellhole."
If plans are approved, the pigs would be reared from the weight of 7kg through to 105kg.
Piglets would be delivered to the site after weaning at 28-days-old and would be reared until the age of 20 weeks.
A planning statement said: “The proposed building will be used for the rearing and finishing of pigs on a straw-based high welfare rearing system.
“The proposed system is not intensive.
“It will enable the applicant to become more competitive and economically sustainable.
“The proposal represents an essential farm diversification project as a result of low commodity prices relating to the production of cereal crops.”