Thousands of pigs died in a May blaze at a Pike County farm, Missouri officials say
BRANSON MO NEWS: JEFFERSON CITY • Thousands of pigs died in May when a concentrated animal feeding operation in Pike County burned, according to the Missouri Department of Agriculture.The blaze, which swept through two structures at Spring Lake Pork on May 19, initially drew little attention except for an article days after the fire by the Bowling Green Times. But the conflagration came amid growing awareness of the health and environmental threats that concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, pose to their neighbors.Mike O’Connell, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said an investigation into the blaze is continuing. He added that “due to the amount of damage,” state investigators have not determined a cause, but foul play is not suspected. The farm is about 80 miles northwest of St. Louis.
O’Connell said an employee at the farm told a Division of Fire Safety investigator that an estimated 16,000 pigs perished at the breeding facility. Kurt Boeckmann, an official with the state Department of Natural Resources, said estimates pegged the death toll at approximately 6,000. An official at the farm on Monday declined to estimate the death toll for a reporter.By the time fire crews arrived at the fire that night, O’Connell said, the farm was “burned to the ground.”Sami Jo Freeman, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, described the incident as a “massive loss.”Anthony Russo, the farm’s general manager, said Monday that the “farm was a complete loss.”The Curryville breeding facility had produced at least 140,000 pigs a year, according to the farm’s website. Jerry L. Epperson, state records show, is the registered agent for Spring Lake Pork. “I notified the Epperson family and we made sure that there was nobody in the barn at that time,” Russo said. “We’re grateful that there was no human injury or loss …
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