925 Pigs Found Dead In Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania Farm Barn, Apparent Act Of Cruelty

WARFORDSBURG, Pa. — A prosecutor says he expects criminal charges will be filed in the deaths of hundreds of pigs that perished at an abandoned southcentral Pennsylvania farm.

District Attorney Travis Kendall declined to identify suspects as the investigation continues.

A person interested in buying the 218-acre farm in Warfordsburg discoved the dead pigs Nov. 7. A spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Tuesday there were between 500 and 600 carcasses. The earlier estimate was more than 900.

The ASPCA said the pigs apparently were abandoned months ago.

Comments

[SpoonPlayer]

08:45 AM on 11/19/2010

Just another atrocity committed by those who choose to participate in the abominable task of raising animals for slaughter and enabled by those who consume their 'products.'

[bogey1]

12:57 AM on 11/19/2010

let's hope this doesn't fizzle out of the public eye as did the Gary Conklin case in Ohio when his employee and others were filmed abusing cattle and the owner got off without even a charge against him

primer on the case;
http://lohv-ohio.org/16.html

if you feel as upset as I did, call Gary Conklin - let him know we don't forget those who abuse animals
614-873-8024

[grumpyfarmer]

08:18 AM on 11/19/2010

Gary Conklin wasn't filmed abusing animals, one of his employees was.

[bogey1]

01:41 AM on 11/20/2010

he let it happen under his watch - "the buck stops here" comes to mind
and just because he wasn't filmed, as you claim, doesn't mean he isn't guilty

if a nurse in a doctor's office gives you the wrong shot, do you sue the nurse or the doctor, or both?

did you read the link? I guess not;
=====================
In addition, it was reported that a day after MFA aired the undercover video, state agriculture inspectors discovered an open pit with an unidentified number of dead cattle floating in the water. Jill M. Deul, an inspector with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, noted that the Conklin Dairy Farm had not properly disposed of the dead animals. Under Ohio law, bovine carcasses must be buried at least four feet underground. It leaves many to wonder how these animals died considering the abuse taking place on the farm at that time.
==========================
I guess Conklin isn't responsible for not properly disposing of dead animals?
Leaving dead animals floating in the water? Really? I guess you think Conklin had no idea of that too?

[hellaci0us]

02:14 PM on 11/18/2010

i think they should be locked up and forgotten for about a week ... give them a good dose of their own medicine..

and yeah.. they are "only animals" .... animals we domesticated and thereby became our responsibility to treat humanely ... even if the end result it to eat them..

to just walk away.. without seeking any help ... is inexcusable...

[WorkhelpWorkhelp]

01:35 AM on 11/18/2010

Well, maybe the farmer figured out his pigs received tainted feed. Out of a conscience he/she let them die.

Well.....it's as good as all of the other guesses.

[dontbelieveinmyths]

04:52 PM on 11/18/2010

Oh, yes, starvation is such a quick and painless way to go. Kudos to the farmers!

[grumpyfarmer]

12:38 AM on 11/17/2010

I have to think there was a lien on these pigs, and no money for the farmer to buy feed. It makes no sense what so ever to let 900 pigs starve to death, they had some value. Of course, if that is true it sort of blurs the intended message here, that farming is inherently cruel.

It really isn't that unusual to find cases where people run out of money, can't legally sell stock, and it ends up starving, or nearly starving. Is it terrible? Yes, but it really doesn't make them criminals. If the farmers were prevented from selling the pigs, but at the same time couldn't get funds to continue to care for them, it is just as much the banks fault as anyone's.

[garder54]

08:10 AM on 11/17/2010

Thank you for that well thought out comment. While many posters below take one extreme or the other (Don't kill pigs vs. Who cares they are pigs) you are one of the few that has taken a middle-ground look into the situation.

Your comment is very informative and brought a side to the situation (banks!) that I had previously not thought of. Thank you.

[grumpyfarmer]

01:03 AM on 11/18/2010

Thank you for being rational and commenting, Huff post needs more posters who think first then type.

[sabelmouse]

12:38 PM on 11/17/2010

why would they be legally prevented from selling them?

[Gregory D Mellott]

11:38 PM on 11/17/2010

Might it be as 'dumb' as: Couldn't buy gas to get them there and since they would have sold to low to talk anyone into giving him anything to do so, the matter was stuck; since the bank would take its share 'off the top'? Maybe should have run down one of those animal cruelty groups for help. At least it would get some attention.

[grumpyfarmer]

01:05 AM on 11/18/2010

If you have pledged property as collateral, you can't just sell it especially if you are already in financial trouble. I don't know this to be the case, I just can't believe any sane person allows that many pigs to starve to death without some exceptional circumstance at play.

[BlackYowe]

12:26 AM on 11/17/2010

That must have been a scene straight from a horror flick. What a horrible shame. Pigs are such smart animals and so trusting.

[BOBZILLA]

10:37 PM on 11/16/2010

Daniel and Kerron Clark, killers of the animals, received $132,000 in farm subsidies from the Department of Agriculture.

Nice to know the standards for aid are so strict.

[grumpyfarmer]

12:40 AM on 11/17/2010

The subsidy issue is completely moot. Subsidies are paid on crops, not livestock.

[Crows]

07:49 AM on 11/21/2010

How can receiving $132,000 be moot? Any income received aided the farm owners in increasing the number of animals living (and dying) on their farm..

[Edy Williams]

09:01 PM on 11/16/2010

All those critters left with no water, no nothing. Hope the owner are put in a cell,in the dark for some time. This is deplorable! They should seize the property, quarentine it off, "go to town," make a good example of these criminals.

[topkatnc]

08:54 PM on 11/16/2010

Someone needs to go to jail over this ... imo ...

[OneSweetGay]

07:10 PM on 11/16/2010

this article really doesn't give any useful information

[bboyy]

08:29 PM on 11/16/2010

the useful information---it shows just how cruel and inhumane man is.....but I guess we all knew this.

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

04:30 PM on 11/16/2010

Isn't it interesting how we anthropomorphize some animals and not others? If these were dogs, everyone would be outraged, there'd be a posse going after the farmer and criminal prosecution. We treat dogs as family - other countries eat them. We cuddle guinea pigs - other countries eat them. Imagine that each one of these pigs was Wilbur from "Charlotte's Web". Maybe they ARE as mentally acute as a small child. Better to err on the side of caution and stop eating these creatures. Do you really need to eat that ham that badly?

[veggiequeenmo]

07:37 PM on 11/16/2010

GO VEGAN!

[seajewel]

06:03 PM on 11/17/2010

Fanned and faved!

[LumberjackAR]

03:36 PM on 11/16/2010

Dang, all that wasted bacon!

[veggiequeenmo]

07:38 PM on 11/16/2010

Not funny.

[BlackYowe]

12:26 AM on 11/17/2010

Yes it was.

[sabelmouse]

12:40 PM on 11/17/2010

it is a waste. these animals died slowly and horribly for nothing.insult to injury.

[EndangeredJackalope]

03:28 PM on 11/16/2010

Pig as right along side apes and dolphins in intelligence -- in par with a 2-3 year old child. They're apparently the only farm animals that can sense their impending death at slaughter. This is orety sad.

[Judy363]

06:16 PM on 11/16/2010

Well, that just made this story 20 times sadder.

How could the farmer just tun his back and no one else was around to check in? Strange, disgusting story.

[dontbelieveinmyths]

04:57 PM on 11/18/2010

Yes, although in the slaughter room, since the smell of blood and death is everywhere, I think by then every animal in there knows what's going to happen to him/her.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

03:26 PM on 11/16/2010

Michael Vick's old pig fighting ring?

[KeepNIt2Real]

03:25 PM on 11/16/2010

Somebody really hates pork eh?