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Rescued piglets served up as sausages to firefighters | Rescued piglets served up as sausages to firefighters |
(35 minutes later) | |
A litter of piglets whose bacon was saved from a barn fire has been served up as dinner to the firefighters who rescued them. | A litter of piglets whose bacon was saved from a barn fire has been served up as dinner to the firefighters who rescued them. |
The 18 piglets and two sows survived the fire in Wiltshire in February, which saw 60 tonnes of hay catch fire. | The 18 piglets and two sows survived the fire in Wiltshire in February, which saw 60 tonnes of hay catch fire. |
In a controversial move, farm manager Rachel Rivers thanked the Pewsey fire team by giving them sausages. | |
She said: "I'm sure vegetarians will hate this." The firefighters however said the bangers were "fantastic". | She said: "I'm sure vegetarians will hate this." The firefighters however said the bangers were "fantastic". |
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said the piglets were "no better off" for escaping the fire. | |
"We'll be sending Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service packs of vegan sausages so that they can see how easy it is to truly be heroes for pigs - by sparing them all suffering," said spokesman Mimi Bekhechi. | |
More on this story and other news from the West of England | |
The animals were given a six-month stay of execution when they were rescued from the farm at Milton Lilbourne. | The animals were given a six-month stay of execution when they were rescued from the farm at Milton Lilbourne. |
But, having been reared for meat, they were then slaughtered and delivered as sausages to the fire station team, which barbecued them. | |
Ms Rivers defended the gift, saying farming is her livelihood and way of life. | |
'Inevitable' | |
"I gave those animals the best quality of life I could ever give until the time they go to slaughter and they go into the food chain," she said. | |
"You do feel sad at the end of it... but to bring them down for [the firefighters] was a good way of saying 'thank you'." | |
The farm's owner, Canon Gerald Osbourne, added: "An inevitable part of farming is the death of an animal which gives us the food to eat." | |
The delighted firefighters said the sausages were "highly recommended" and thanked the farmer "for her generosity". | |
"We can tell no porkies, the sausages were fantastic," a spokesman said on Tuesday. | |
However, the fire service has since removed the pictures of the impromptu barbecue from its Facebook page and a spokesman said it would not comment further. |