Farmers across the Netherlands have taken to Dutch motorways over the past 24 hours in a series of protests that have led to chaos.
Yesterday, tractors blockaded the A2, A7, A15, A28, A50 and A67 highways, leading to huge delays for travellers, as well as more serious issues for others, the NOS reports.
Ambulances were forced to detour around the tractors prompting angry reactions from bystanders.
One user writes on the NOS’s Facebook page that her family could not make it to an important hospital appointment with her daughter. “Thank you! We have to wait weeks again for an appointment with the pediatric cardiologist.”
Speaking to the NOS, traffic law lawyer Bert Kabel adds that “what they’re doing is life-threatening.”
Arson and further protests
Today, the protests have taken a slightly different form with farmers setting fire to hay bales on the motorways. The majority of the fires have now been put out, however, this is not all that is planned for today.
According to Farmers Defense Force, farmers will protest outside the buildings of the chamber in The Hague today at 12 PM.
The municipality of The Hague has responded by saying that they will take action against any protests that are a danger to people who are visiting or working in the area around the buildings.
“If they do come with vehicles, they will have to park them in such a way that it blocks no through roads for emergency services,” a spokesperson tells the NOS.
Why are Dutch farmers protesting?
The Dutch cabinet has presented a plan that aims to cut down on the amount of nitrogen produced in the Netherlands. In order to achieve this, farmers would have to vastly change their approach to farming and significantly reduce their livestock.
As a result, farmers across the Netherlands banded together in order to protest against the plan.
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Feature Image: Kees Torn/Wikimedia Commons/CC2.0
If it wasn’t for the Climate Crazies the farmers could be out doing what they do best, raising food for us to eat. What’s up with the Climate Fascists? They want to get rid of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen which means No Plants and No Food! We should call the actions of Climate Do-Gooders exactly what it is, Genocide! The mass starvation of the Human Race! RIGHT ON FARMERS!!
The majority of the Dutch population stands with the farmers. There’s word that fishermen, construction workers, truckers and others affiliated with the agricultural sector (and even German colleagues) will be joining tomorrow’s protests.