Cows, pigs, chickens, ducks and turkeys die in large numbers in fires, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, and other natural disasters. There is no legal mandate to ensure their safety.
DENA JONES: In January 2020, an estimated 10,000 chickens perished in a fire just west of Winston-Salem, North Carolina… Less than 24 hours after the fire in North Carolina, a poultry house in Fulks Run, Virginia, burned to the ground, killing all 24,000 chickens trapped inside. The county’s deputy fire marshal, Joe Mullens, told one media outlet that the structure, which was built in 1978, was exempt from fire codes; he merely encouraged farmers to practice “good housekeeping”…
In 2019, Michigan reported the most animal deaths from fires (more than 253,000 deaths in 17 fires). But shortly after ringing in the new year, the state had already eclipsed that death toll. On January 3, 2020, a devastating fire tore through an egg farm in Otsego operated by Konos Inc., a Vande Bunte Eggs distributor, killing 300,000 egg-laying hens… Though these statistics are grim, they don’t even represent the full scale of the tragedy…
When thousands of animals burn to death, it should sound an alarm. Yet, because farm animals are viewed as expendable commodities — not beloved pets — their deaths receive little more than a passing interest by factory farm operators who produce animals by the billions and are insured against such losses. Proven fire deterrents are often completely ignored. Since 2013, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), has compiled media reports to track more than 650 barn fires around the country that have killed more than four million farm animals from 2013 to date…
Cows, pigs, chickens, ducks and turkeys die in large numbers in barn fires for the same reason they do in hurricanes, floods, blizzards, and other natural disasters: There is little legal mandate to ensure their safety. There are no federal laws in the United States designed to protect farm animals from barn fires, and farm animals generally are not protected by any municipal codes or state laws. In reality, they receive considerably less protection than other species of confined animals, such as those living in laboratories or zoos…
The animal agriculture industry has been opposed to making any changes in their production practices to prevent or suppress fires… AWI included a petition signed by 10,000 consumers nationwide calling on the industry group to act… Change is urgently needed. We hope that before millions more animals are needlessly killed, the industry will make preventing barn fires a priority and work with all stakeholders to put forth meaningful solutions. SOURCE…
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