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Photo: Stefan Sauer / dpa
A fire broke out on Tuesday morning in a pig breeding farm in Alt-Tellin, Mecklenburg.
According to media reports, five buildings that are said to be home to around 5000 pigs are affected.
Many of them have already died.
As the police announced, several fire departments fought against the flames.
In the afternoon the fire had still not been extinguished.
One person was also slightly injured for an unexplained cause and is receiving medical care.
The police have not yet given any information about the cause of the fire or the amount of damage caused.
Company has long been criticized
According to the NDR, the facility belongs to one of the largest pig breeding operations in Germany - Agricultural Piglet Breeding Germany (LFD).
The operation in Alt-Tellin has already been criticized in the past.
In 2019 he was noticed by a defective ventilation system.
At that time around 1000 pigs were suffocated.
According to the Mecklenburg Environment Ministry, a total of around 9,000 breeding sows and 50,000 piglets are to be kept on the farm.
There were around 5,000 animals in the affected stables alone.
According to local media reports, hundreds of pigs are said to have died in the fire.
Helpers tried to free as many as possible from the buildings.
The rescued animals ran wild over the area, reports the NDR.
Kerstin Lenz, chairwoman of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania regional association of the German Animal Welfare Association, describes the dramatic scenes: “The clouds of smoke rise up to the sky, the flames spread from one stall to the other, the fire brigade is powerless.
We are experiencing a catastrophe for thousands of animals that are suffocating in agony or burned alive, ”says the organization's website.
According to the Animal Welfare Association, there have been concerns about fire protection at the facility in Alt-Tellin for years.
Such fires are not uncommon: It was not until the end of February that around 3,000 pigs died in a fire in a fattening facility in Kobrow.
Environment Minister: "We don't want such facilities"
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Agriculture and Environment Minister Till Backhaus describes the fire as a tragedy in a press release: "You cannot imagine the suffering of animals in such a fire."
Everyone who protested against the construction of this "piglet factory" years ago now sees themselves in the right, according to Backhaus.
"And I've always said we don't want such facilities." They didn't fit into a time when people expect better treatment of farm animals.
Such large-scale systems are difficult to handle "and as you can see, there is no guaranteed safety for the animals," says Backhaus.
He will work to ensure that such systems are no longer approved by politicians.
"Nobody wants to have to see such pictures anymore."
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