Fire crew save piglets & farmer turns them into sausages as thank you
Porkers saved from blaze are made into bangers to feed hungry fire station staff
A FARMER whose piglets were saved from a barn blaze sent them as sausages to firefighters who rescued them.
The baby pigs and two sows were freed by the fire service when a barn caught light and 60 tonnes of hay went up in smoke.
Farmer Rachel Rivers vowed she would reward the firefighters with sausages when the animals were slaughtered for their meat.
She delivered on her promise and the fire service staff in Pewsey, Wiltshire, cooked the sausages on a barbecue at the station.
Rachel said: “I’m sure vegetarians will hate this but I wanted to thank them.
“I promised them I would bring down some sausages for them, which they were all pleased about.
“We farm and this is what we do – you can’t keep them as pets.”
There was a mixed reaction on social media and Rachel and the firefighters faced criticism.
Some Facebook users called the story “horrible” while others said pigs were reared for bacon and sausages.
Pewsey fire station posted a review of the sausages on Facebook but the posting has since been taken offline.
It said: “Exactly six months and one day since firefighters rescued 18 piglets from a fire, we got to sample the fruits of our labours from that February night.
“Huge thank you to Rachel Rivers for dropping them off for us to sample.
“Highly recommended by Pewsey fire station crew. If any one of our followers is having a bank holiday BBQ this weekend, check out these sausages – they are fantastic.”
Campaigners from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said they would be sending the firefighters packs of Linda McCartney vegan sausages.
Mimi Bekhechi, director of international programmes at the charity, said: “These poor piglets were no better off for escaping the fire only to be put back into it six months later after being subjected to the horrifying experience of the abattoir.
“What if these firefighters had ‘saved’ a human child or a dog? Pigs feel fear and pain in just the same way as we do.
“When the emergency services rescue animals, PETA thank them with vegan chocolates, not the animals’ barbecued flesh.
“We’ll be sending Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service packs of Linda McCartney vegan sausages so they can see how easy it is to truly be heroes for pigs – by sparing them all suffering.
“We doubt the farmer can look beyond her own wallet.”