Dozens arrested at farmers protest in Drenthe

The police arrested dozens of demonstrators at a farmers' protest in Drenthe on Wednesday morning for violating a ban on protesting with agricultural vehicles. The demonstrators blocked access to waste processing company Attero in Wijster. Dozens of agricultural vehicles and cars blocked the access road to the company, the Drenthe police said on Twitter.

Drenthe, along with Groningen and Friesland, decided to temporarily ban protests involving tractors and other agricultural vehicles. According to the local safety regions, such protests over the past days were not announced in advance, and as a result no agreements could be made regarding safety. The ban applies until at least Monday.

Since last week Thursday, farmers demonstrated with their tractors and agricultural vehicles against Agriculture Minister Carola Scouthen's plans to ban the adding of protein to animal feed from September. Farmers add protein to cattle feed as concentrates, but this also means that the animals emit more nitrogen through their urine and manure.