Barn fire kills sheep

[Catherine]

This is so sad. There seems to be no provision to rescue animals in a fire. All those sheep lost.
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/03/mor...-barn-fire

I guess storing hay that is so flammable with live animals is not a good idea. Maybe barns needed safer heating systems. I just wish I didn't keep coming across articles like this.

[Knight of Albion]

Poor souls.

Always a danger, especially with factory farmed animals.

Still the answer is simple, step off the cruelty carousel... Lead by example and live without killing or exploiting animals.

[LPC]

How right you are, Noble Knight! So many sheep should not be locked away unattended, especially with so much hay in the same building. The owners do not even live nearby, it seems, as it was a neighbour who alerted the authorities. Many famers leave buildings open for the sheep to come and go as they please. When we had a full flock, we always gave them free access, except for ewes expecting shortly or nursing mothers, who were watched and/or tended during the night. In extreme cold, we might put the whole flock inside and close the door of the sheep house, but we would go during the night several times to check everything was all right. Hay and straw were always kept in a separate building, for safety reasons.

Unfortunately, greed makes some farmers cram lots of sheep into buildings (even intensively) in order to maximise profits. These sheep were completely innocent. The fire could probably have been avoided if the electrics had been checked regularly. Also, large amounts of hay and straw should not have been stored in the same building. Many farmers use separate buildings, to avoid this sort of tragedy.

Poor sheep! Being burned alive is horrific. May their souls recover quickly from the trauma of such neglect and suffering.

[Tobi]

When any animals are kept in unnatural and uncaring circumstances, and not kept kindly watch over -tragedies can happen.

I am so sorry these sheep were not loved and cared for as they deserved. Human error again!!

[Catherine]

There has been so much of it lately. I feel sick at heart each time I read a story.

You put it so well, they are kept in un-natural and uncaring circumstances and they are not kept kindly watch over. Farming has come to a sad state.

[AnimalFamily]

Agreed, and it is pretty common knowledge not to store large amounts of hay or straw in the same building as your animals. It is so highly combustible, sometimes enough moisture and heat buildup alone can start a fire. What a sad story.

[Catherine]

I have found so many stories just like it. That tells me that there is a problem in the way we do things. I have big bags of wood shavings for animal bedding. I store them in a safe place. I don't use candles around the house anymore. The animals have too much flammable stuff. You can't be too careful.