Dave and Mayu Phillips have been given the go-ahead by Pembrokeshire County Council for an eco-home where they aim to breed and eat guinea pigs and other animals including pigeons
A couple have announced plans to breed and eat guinea pigs after being granted planning approval to build an eco-home in rural Wales.
Dave and Mayu Phillips were given the go-ahead by Pembrokeshire County Council for the development, which includes “small-scale livestock” being kept for meat.
The site is in a popular area of south Pembrokeshire near tourist hotspots like the coastal towns of Tenby and Saundersfoot.
As well as guinea pigs, they expect to raise pigeons and rabbits for food in an effort to live sustainably on the land.
A planning committee meeting heard Mr Phillips, who said his family have lived in Pembrokeshire for generations, believes the project is his way of “contributing positively to its future”.
The plans include a “low-impact” home, increased production of honey and walnuts on the site, as well as the keeping of small livestock.
Councillor Mark Carter questioned Mr Phillips on the choice of meat, telling him: “I was quite intrigued by some of the other things you were going to grow: the rabbits and the guinea pigs, was it?”
Mr Phillips responded: “(They’re) not like the guinea pigs people have as pets, it’s completely different. It’s just like a big rabbit, and we’ve got experience for years now we’ve bred them. They’re bred for meat, very similar to breeding rabbits for meat, very similar.”
The proposals are a One Planet Development – a Welsh planning policy designed to encourage people to live and work sustainably on their own land, allowing building to go ahead on rural sites that may otherwise not be permitted for development.
Mr Phillips told the committee: “My wife and I are very deeply passionate about the One Planet movement and the principles behind the One Planet development.
“Today humanity is living as if we’ve got several more planet Earths just waiting in the wings… the reality is we only have one planet. We can spread awareness of this problem but also take practical steps towards living more sustainably.”
The One Planet Council promotes proposals and states on its website: “This forward-thinking planning policy provides a genuinely affordable and sustainable way for people to live and work on their own land, bringing social, economic and environmental benefits. It was adopted by the Welsh government in 2011 as part of its One Wales: One Planet scheme.
“One Planet Development is quantified by ecological footprinting, which reveals how much of the Earth’s resources people are consuming. When households reduce their own ecological footprints this helps their country reduce its overall footprint.”