Fire at Pig Farm in Beerta Results in Death of Hundreds of Pigs and One Injury

There were about ‘300 to 400 piglets and sows present’, reports the fire service. The first fire crew managed to ‘rescue dozens of pigs’.

One person injured

The fire broke out in one of the barns around 3:30 p.m. A lot of smoke was released. The fire spread to a second barn on the property. One person was taken to hospital with burns. One barn is completely burnt out, the second partly.

Due to the fire, train traffic between Groningen and Leer (Germany) was halted. The entrances and exits of the A7 near Beerta were also closed. The fire was under control shortly after 7 p.m. Firefighters expect it to take several hours to put out the fire.

Frisky stable

The affected farm belongs to Annechien ten Have. In her ‘floating stable’ she keeps pigs under animal-friendly conditions. The meat is sold as two-star meat under the brand name Hamletz.