20,000 pigs killed after fireplace at pig manufacturing facility in Germany

A devastating fireplace at a big pig fattening manufacturing facility in Germany killed 20,000 pigs. The hearth began late Friday afternoon, and over 200 firefighters labored all through the weekend to comprise it.

LFD Holding, Germany’s largest pig manufacturing facility, has been repeatedly criticized for animal cruelty. In 2021, a serious fireplace killed 55,000 pigs, together with piglets.

The most recent fireplace once more raises issues over the corporate’s strategy to security and animal welfare.

Animal welfare organizations argue that the persistent fires at LFD services replicate systemic problems with the corporate. It prioritizes revenue over animal welfare and security. The frequency of those massive fires suggests an absence of motion by LFD Holding to handle underlying security deficiencies.

Animal Cruelty at LFD

In 2004, the Dutch entrepreneur Adrianus Straathof based LFD Holding. He had already confronted repeated criticism for practices associated to animal cruelty.

Straathof started his pig farm operations within the Netherlands. There, he confronted authorized actions there resulting from animal cruelty and overcrowding at his pig farms. He then expanded his operations to Germany and later to Hungary.

Underneath Straathof’s management, the corporate, rebranded as LFD Holding in 2014, grew to become a big participant in large-scale piglet manufacturing throughout Europe.

Regardless of its industrial success, the corporate has been accused of quite a few scandals involving the therapy of animals. Incidents of brutal therapy of piglets and the preserving of sows in excessively slim gestation crates have been documented, resulting in authorized convictions and fines.

Footage exhibiting piglets being overwhelmed to loss of life and sows confined in tight areas sparked widespread outrage and led to official sanctions.

In 2020, Straathof offered the corporate to Terra Grundwerte AG, a Swiss-based funding group.