Massive animal suffering: 10,000 chickens dead in barn fire – criticism is loud!

Massive animal suffering: 10,000 chickens dead in barn fire – criticism is loud!

A major fire in a stable building in Brasegard, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, caused horror today. Around 10,000 chickens died in the fire. The fire broke out at around 10:40 a.m. in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district and was already fully engulfed in the building by the time rescue workers arrived. All of the surrounding volunteer fire departments were deployed, but unfortunately they were unable to save the building, which burned down completely. Fortunately, there were no injuries among the people. The exact cause of the fire is currently unclear, but there is evidence of negligent arson and the criminal police have secured initial evidence at the scene of the fire. A fire investigator will be deployed in the coming days to investigate the incident in more detail.

In recent years, barn fires have become notorious in Germany. This also confirms the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, which points out that over a hundred thousand animals die in fires in stables every year. Technical defects or negligent actions are often the causes. Fire protection in modern animal husbandry facilities often seems to be a minor issue as the focus is heavily on cost-effective mass farming. It is therefore not surprising that animal rights activists and politicians are now expressing loud criticism of the poor fire protection conditions in such facilities.

Criticism and demands

The animal welfare foundation “Four Paws” described the terrible event as a “systematic failure”. Given the current situation, they urgently call for stables to be equipped with fire-proof sections or access to outdoor areas in order to avoid such disasters in the future. The Greens in the state parliament are also joining the discussion and are calling for older stables to be retrofitted in order to increase safety standards. It is time for politicians to sit up and take real, tangible measures.

As the Consumer Protection Forum page reported, many stables today are not adequately protected against fires. Common construction sites include combustible materials and unsuitable building structures. Roofs made from nail plate trusses in particular fail quickly, making it much more difficult to rescue animals. There are significant concerns that current fire regulations do not provide for measures to save animals. This makes the situation for animal protection all the more precarious.

The dilemma of factory farming

However, the central problem in factory farming is not only fire protection, but also the fact that animals are often viewed as cost-benefit factors. For example, over 50,000 animals were killed in a major fire at a pig breeding facility in 2021. These numbers show how urgently changes are needed. Many animal rights activists emphasize that effective fire protection requires not only effective materials but also costly safety measures such as sprinkler systems, which many farmers consider unviable. Unfortunately, the lack of official statistics on barn fires also hinders a comprehensive analysis of the causes of fires.

The tragic fire in Brasegard is a wake-up call that the discussion about fire protection in animal husbandry needs to be restarted. Animal protection and responsible animal husbandry cannot remain just lip service. It is not enough to just talk about the problem; Concrete steps must finally be taken to prevent such terrible incidents in the future.