Poultry farmers in Oklahoma are challenging subpoenas that were issued to them as part of a lawsuit.
Several poultry producers are being sued by the Oklahoma Attorney-General, who says that chicken litter used as fertiliser is polluting the water in the Illinois River watershed.
A Federal Magistrate granted the Atttorney-General permission to issue the subpoenas, which were delivered to the producers last month. The subpoenas state that samples of soil, poultry litter and groundwater are to be taken on the farms and tested for various pollutants and pathogens as evidence for the lawsuit.
The Magistrate will today hear the poultry producers’ arguments challenging the subpoenas.