On 9 January 2023, the police and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority went to a farm at Innherred in Trøndelag. Here they were met by what they estimated were 200 dead pigs. But after further investigation, it turns out that around 1,500 pigs have died on the farm since November 2021. 76 remaining pigs had to be euthanized due to concern for animal welfare. The defendant partially admits criminal guilt. He does not agree on how long pigs on the farm have died as a result of violations of the Animal Welfare Act. – I don’t understand that something like that can happen. In court, the accused man tells about the operation from when he started with pigs in 1992 until January 2023. – I have had a lot of help from my father. He was a resource, said the pig farmer. After his father died, he himself had a heart attack in 2019 and he began to be plagued with illness among the pigs, things went worse with the operation. – It was difficult to overcome the disease in the pig. Terribly difficult to ask for help. The man explains that he stopped contacting the vet in the summer of 2022. – It’s starting to get a little crazy financially. Gets scared, phone scared and tries to avoid things. He wanted to reduce the number of pigs, but when the slaughterhouse contacted him, he did not have the courage to say no. The last delivery of pigs came in Christmas 2022. – Since the old barn was collapsing, they were put into the new barn. From 1 November, the pigs did not get food due to poor finances and a damaged pump. The defendant explains that he was in his own world, which he hid from his roommates, his two children and neighbours. He locked the door and did not answer the phone. – I went out into the barn and pretended. But just sat in the office. Finally, on 9 January 2023, a neighbor came to the door. He had previously helped the farmer repair the inside of the barn. – I’ve said it before that I don’t understand that something like that can happen and then I’m suddenly in the middle of it myself. The neighbor took a quick look at the farm and they were notified. – I ask myself: Why didn’t you ask for help?, says the defendant. Failure to care The man is accused of breaking several points in the Animal Welfare Act. And it is these offenses that deal with failures in care, supervision and care. – This is due, among other things, to inadequate access to water and good quality food, inadequate follow-up and treatment of illness, as well as inadequate cleaning and the absence of daily supervision. This is what the prosecutor in the case, police attorney Amund Sand, told news earlier this autumn. In recent months, the pigs did not get food and the farmer was, so to speak, not in the barn. The police believe that the violation of the Animal Welfare Act has led to the death of 1,500 pigs at the farm. There is not much disagreement between the prosecution and the accused in the case. Disagreement about the time period in the indictment But the accused man is not united in the time period and how many pigs have died due to violations of the Animal Welfare Act. He therefore acknowledges partial criminal liability. – It is a shame how far back in time the failure in supervision, care and living environment goes. That is the central point of contention in the case, says Sand in court. The prosecutor in the case, police attorney Amund Sand at Trøndelag police district. Photo: Eivind Aabakken / news From late summer 2022, the parties agree that there has not been proper animal husbandry. – The question is whether there were animal welfare violations before this time. Before this, the prosecution believes that there was a lack of prevention and a lack of treatment, adds the prosecutor. The police reckon that there have been dead pigs that have been removed from the barn or eaten by the remaining pigs, the prosecutor explains in the courtroom. – The math is that 1,500 pigs are missing. The difference between piglets in and pigs out for fattening, says Strand. Dead pigs in various stages of decomposition were found throughout the defendant farmer’s barn. Between 15 and 50 pigs fell into a manure cellar and drowned. Photo: The police In the indictment, it appears that there was too little space for all the animals in the pig pens and that it was not secured well enough. Several pigs therefore fell into a manure cellar. It was so deep here that they probably drowned. Stressing pigs in too little space, poor indoor climate and cleanliness, as well as pollution from dead pigs led to several animals dying and becoming ill.
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– farmer hid it by going out into the barn and pretending he was working – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
