At least 500 pigs are dead and many more injured after a huge barn fire swept through a mega pig farm near Celestún, Yucatán.
Although the fire consumed an entire barn, no firefighters or other authorities were called to help fight the blaze. Instead, workers with hoses attempted to put out the fire themselves. One worker said:
A crew of employees used hoses and a high-pressure Karcher to combat the fire. The smoke was suffocating, but they didn’t call the Firefighters.
A short circuit is assumed to have started the fire, which began in the early morning of February 3. While no employee injuries have been reported, hundreds of burnt pig corpses were carried off the premises in dump trucks.
Tragically, horrific barn fires like this are all too common. Just last month, a massive barn fire erupted at an egg farm in Bryan, Texas. The blaze sent plumes of smoke billowing into the sky and engulfed at least two chicken houses—one of them still holding chickens. Over 100 firefighters were called to the scene, and it took days to combat the blaze.
In April of last year, 18,000 cows at South Fork Dairy in Texas were standing in holding pens waiting to be milked when an enormous fire tore through. With no hope of escape, the animals could do nothing but crowd together and bellow in terror. The death toll is so high that this may have been the largest cattle killing event ever.
And just one month earlier, a giant pig farm containing more than 10,000 pigs burned to the ground, killing every single animal trapped inside. The facility, owned by Canadian meatpacking company Olymel, was a “finishing barn” where pigs of different ages were “fattened up” for slaughter. Olymel spokesperson Richard Vigneault described the situation as “very unfortunate.”
These mass-casualty fires—and the industry’s response to them—demonstrate how animals trapped in the agriculture industry are treated as mere commodities. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to end our support of this cruel industry. Download our FREE How to Eat Veg guide to get started today.
