Groups petition to stop Arkansas chicken industry expansion

Animal rights and environmental groups are asking for a halt to building more live chicken facilities in Arkansas until federal regulators assess the impacts of such facilities on animals, the environment and public health. Groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Arkansas Animal Rights Koalition are asking USDA and the Small Business Administration to stop making federal loans until the local impact of new facilities has been determined. The groups have submitted a petition calling for the studies as part of the National Environmental Policy Act in light of an estimated 700,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases that a network of poultry facilities in northeastern Arkansas would release each year