It was Mattilsyne’s people at the slaughterhouse who notified in November that thin animals with a tendency to disease had been delivered. – We followed this up with the farmer on the phone. We had a good agreement that he should contact his regular vet to have follow-up on the herd, says regional director Steinar Westerbergi of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. But the farmer had not cleaned up and last week the Norwegian Food Safety Authority received a new report of concern. On Monday, they went to the farm together with the police and found over 200 dead pigs. DEAD PIGS: The Norwegian Food Safety Authority estimates that there were between 200 and 300 dead pigs on the farm. Photo: Norwegian Food Authority 76 pigs were still alive, but were in such bad condition that they had to be killed. Westerberg states that there was no reason not to trust the farmer after the notification in November. He describes the conversation with the farmer at the time as credible and good. – Based on the history we have with the farmer from before, we had no identification that something was wrong, says the regional director. Those who today have to remove the dead animals have strong impressions, says regional director of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority Steinar Westerberg. Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news He also says that during 2021 they had unannounced inspections at the farm. Back then, everything was fine with the animal husbandry. The farmer is charged with breaching the Animal Welfare Act and has admitted guilt during questioning. It is a serious breach of the law, according to police attorney Amund Sand. – What we have seen in this case is what we would describe as a comprehensive failure and the penalty for the incident as it appears today is imprisonment for up to three years, says Sand. An important question for the police is to find out how long the animals have not received food and care. They haven’t figured that out yet, but Sand believes it has been going on since late last autumn. Work started today to remove the dead animals from the farm. The Civil Defense, the fire service, people from the municipality, the police and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority participate here. It’s a difficult and time-consuming job, according to Westerberg. – We are talking about many animals and manual work. There are also strong impressions that meet those who have to do the work, says Westerberg. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority does not have exact figures on the number of dead animals in the barn, but it is between two and three hundred. The pigs will now be transported to an approved destruction facility in Eastern Norway.
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The Norwegian Food Safety Authority was notified of emaciated pigs in November – two months later they found 200 dead pigs – news Trøndelag
