Some Bad News For Pigs

A couple of news items greeted me on my return from spring break in Florida. More than 3000 pigs died in a fire at a Hutterite hog farm outside of Winnipeg, Saskatchewan on Saturday. Authorities think the fire was caused by a faulty exhaust fan. The fire spread rapidly through three structures thanks to other exhaust fans. According to the CBC (here), the pig operation is the main source of income for the 85 members of the Vermillion Farms community. If, like me, you are curious about the Hutterites, you can consult their official website here.

In Tularosa, New Mexico Leanne Barkemeyer kept approximately 20 pigs on her land. While this in itself is not a crime, she apparently couldn't take care of all the pigs, leading sheriff's deputies to shoot and kill eight of her pigs. According to Deputy Nobert Sanchez, "She stated that she could no longer take care of the animals, that we needed to do what we needed to do with them." The pigs were shot after one of them charged a deputy. According to KOAT 7 News (here) the rest of the pigs will be rounded up and shipped to sanctuaries in Florida or Arizona. The Alamagordo Daily News has a good article as well (here) that provides more detail about these "half-feral" pigs, which were both pot-bellied pigs and domestic pigs.