These little piggies were saved… for a later date.
Back in February, officers from the Pewsey Fire Station in the UK saved 18 piglets and 2 adult pigs from a fire in Wiltshire that set over 2,000 pounds of hay ablaze.
The farm was grateful for the firefighters’ fearless service, and wanted to say thank you. So, six months later, manager Rachel Rivers gave the pigs back to the officers — in the form of sausages!
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The department found themselves in another firestorm after posting about the “fantastic” gift on Facebook, sharing a photo of the pork products barbequing on the grill.
Animal lovers were steamed. PETA pointed out the irony of the ill-fated rescue, saying the piglets were “no better off” for escaping the fire, adding:
“We’ll be sending Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service packs of vegan sausages so that they can see how easy it is to truly be heroes for pigs – by sparing them all suffering.”
Rivers defended the gift, saying while the animals were given a six-month stay of execution after being rescued, nothing could save them from their true fate as people food.
She explained to the BBC:
“I gave those animals the best quality of life I could ever give until the time they go to slaughter and they go into the food chain. You do feel sad at the end of it… but to bring them down for [the firefighters] was a good way of saying ‘thank you’.”
The department issued an apology for posting pics of the BBQ, but didn’t feel too guilty about accepting the gift. A station spokesperson said:
“We can tell no porkies, the sausages were fantastic.”
Sad to think about.
[Image via BBC.]
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