On Tuesday in Shine, North Carolina, a barn containing more than 1,000 pigs caught fire. Multiple fire departments were called to put out the fire, but only 200 pigs survived. The cause of the fire is under investigation and has not yet been determined.
This is not an isolated incident. three weeks ago, 1,100 pigs died A fire broke out at a factory farm in Ohio 70,000 chickens died A fire at a factory farm in California in mid-July. As of now, in 2024, approx 1.5 million farm animals died in barn fires, according to data compiled by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), a US non-profit organization.
More than that 8 million farm animals Barn fires have died in the past decade, but animal advocates believe the true number is much higher because reporting requirements vary by state. Among the many cruelties of the factory farming complex, these deaths are disturbingly common if little mentioned.
This week’s fire at a North Carolina hog farm is especially timely, however: The pork industry recently pushed back against proposed fire codes that would have required sprinkler systems on new farms.
Farm fires and how to put them out
Virtually all animals raised for meat, dairy, and eggs in the United States are raised on factory farms, where thousands to tens of thousands of animals are crammed together in large warehouses. These aren’t the old red barns you can see from the highway, anachronisms from the pre-industrial era. These include modern ventilation, lighting and heating systems that can malfunction and start fires.
According to the Research Foundation, faulty heating and electrical systems are the leading cause of barn fires. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)A nongovernmental organization that writes many fire codes and standards States and Territories adoption other reasons Includes machinery, weather, fires, and, although rarely, arson.
In early 2024, an NFPA expert committee voted overwhelmingly to update its animal housing code, which includes commercial livestock facilities, to require buildings constructed or renovated on medium- and large-scale factory farms beginning in 2025. However, the code must still be enforceable by local areas and states.
In response, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) submitted a proposal to supplement the requirement, which was rejected by NFPA members at its annual technical meeting. NPPC appeal That decision and a hearing by the organization’s standards council were granted, which was held last month. Now, animal welfare advocates and pork industry groups await the NFPA council’s decision.
The National Pork Producers Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it released its position on a September blog. One argument for this is that more research is needed to determine the causes of barn fires and solutions to prevent them. Note, however, at the National Fire Protection Association Foundation Comprehensive report Details of the causes of barn fires in 2022 and sprinkler systems recommended as the first solution.
In its petition, the pork group cited several other reasons for rejecting the sprinkler requirement, including biosecurity, environmental pollution and the potential for sprinkler activation to harm animals.
“In my opinion, a lot of it is grasping at straws,” said Ally Granger, AWI’s policy adviser. “A lot of their claims really seem to distract from the fact that this is a widespread problem within their industry.” The pork group’s biggest concern, however, appears to be how much the sprinkler requirement will cost the industry.
Repeating the same old logic of the meat industry
The Pork Council claims it will cost pork producers $9 to $15 per square foot to install sprinkler systems. If they are correct, it can be roughly $200,000 for an industrial barn, and many facilities have multiple barns.
It’s a lot of money, but a reasonable price to pay to protect vulnerable animals caught in the fire. Although fires are relatively rare, people need sprinkler systems in buildings because we’ve decided — correctly — that we value protecting human life enough, even if it makes construction more expensive.
“They don’t want to pay for sprinklers, and they’re just going to ignore the fact that thousands of animals are dying on their facilities,” Granger said.
The pork industry, despite its supposed “moral obligation” To raise animals “humanely and humanely,” willing to absorb the occasional loss of animal life in barn fires if it means not incurring the expense of installing and maintaining sprinkler systems. It has lobbied aggressively to retain the right to confine pregnant pigs to tiny crates for virtually their entire lives for the same reason: cost.
Over the past few years, the poultry industry – in an effort to prevent the spread of bird flu – has killed millions of animals by closing vents and turning up the heat so that the birds slowly die of heatstroke, the most cost-effective, and cruelest, form of mass euthanasia.
If there’s one defining characteristic of today’s meat industry, it’s that it’s willing to sacrifice the welfare of an animal — or the safety of a worker or the health of a river, for that matter — if it improves its bottom line. At some point, regulators have to say enough is enough and commonsense reform is needed. Sprinkler systems seem like a good place to start to prevent animals from dying in a fire.
