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800 cows killed by a fire at a dairy farm
#1
A dairy farm in southern Manitoba had a serious fire that involved their four main barns. All four barns were destroyed along with 800 cows. A possible 200 cows were rescued.

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/about-800-ca...-1.4546356


The barns were connected so the fire was able to spread from one barn to another. They were also wood structures.


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/...-1.5243635

I have to wonder that they could get so many cows into barns that size. Of course they had a ventilation system, but that is part of why the fire spread so fast.  As usual there was no way to evacuate the cows. Most of them would have been trapped in their pens.
One thing I noticed in the article was the point they made about everyone getting to safety and then they mention the 800 dead cows. Everyone clearly didn't get to safety.

There needs to be something done to protect barns from fires like this. Every year hundreds of animals die in fires, still trapped in their pens. Eight hundred dead cows is not a small loss of life.
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Catherine

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#2
(08-13-2019, 04:11 PM)Catherine Wrote: I have to wonder that they could get so many cows into barns that size. Of course they had a ventilation system, but that is part of why the fire spread so fast.  As usual there was no way to evacuate the cows. Most of them would have been trapped in their pens.
One thing I noticed in the article was the point they made about everyone getting to safety and then they mention the 800 dead cows. Everyone clearly didn't get to safety.

Yes, cramming so many cows into such a small area could never be a good idea -either for the cows' welfare, or for the additional infrastructure needed (presumably electrical equipment which would only be required to maintain so many animals in a small area !)

And yes....sad isn't it, that humans can say "everyone got to safety" ? No -everyone didn't. 800 lives lost is a huge tragedy.
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#3
I think there needs to be an overhaul of our farming methods. That goes without saying. 
On a more specific level they need to review barn safety. In particular the building codes for barns are clearly not good enough when it comes to fire safety. They should be doing a review of the MANY barn fires and see where the failures are.

There needs to be better electrical standards. They need sprinkler systems. Barns should not be built so that fire can spread from barn to barn. There needs to be a way to evacuate animals in the event of a fire or any other disaster.

Clearly animals are over crowded and that issue should be addressed.

I am tired of reading about hundreds of animals dying in fires.
Let's have some fire prevention and some fire safety and a plan to save lives in the event that fire prevention fails.

It is not okay that this happens over and over again.
It is time for change.
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Catherine

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#4
I am not the only one who wants to see changes. The Winnipeg Humane Society is calling for changes.
Right now the building codes allow barns to be built to a lesser standard because they don't house people.
However barn fires are becoming more common and as  the animal welfare consultant to the Winnipeg Humane Society put it, dying in a fire while trapped in a building is a terrible way to go. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/...-1.5246165

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/calls-for-re...-1.4550445


I am glad there are people acting in response to this fire. All loss of animal life in a fire is terrible, but this is particularly terrible. There were so many cows in the barns and so few were saved.

New regulations and new methods of farming could put an end to this animal holocaust.
Now we need Ontario to pay attention. We have way too many barn fires here.
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Catherine

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#5
It sounds like the age-old issue. Someone wants to make as much profit as possible from exploitation of animals. Yet they are not willing to spend money -even to make their profit-making venture safe! Never mind the fact that cramming so many animals in such a space is diabolical.
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#6
Our whole way of farming now has led to disasters like barn fires. We have an increase in food poisoning and food born illnesses. Water running into streams from farms is contaminating the water and making it unsafe to drink. 
Overall human health problems are increasing because we are eating too much meat and we are eating meat that is produced under unhealthy conditions.  What we are doing is destructive and the barn fires are a sign of how messed up things are. That fact that we have failed to act to make things safer for animals is an indication of how far things have gone in the wrong direction.

Making barns safer is a start, but there need to be so many other changes. We have to keep pushing when ever we find a petition that we can sign or passing on information.  Public response is helping bring about changes. It maybe slow, but someday we will do things differently.
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Catherine

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#7
This is tragic on so many level people will never learn greed comes first for many.
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#8
The barns could have had some fire safety features. They would have cost money, but many more cows would have lived. Money is always the issue. You are right. Greed wins out all too often.
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Catherine

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#9
Actually, this makes me wonder...
I was first thinking that in fact the cattle farm stood to lose a lot of money from those dead cows; imagining that the price of a dairy cow  was about $1000 -1500.
So I was thinking they must have lost between $800,000 up to possibly $1,200,000.

However....now I learn there has been a steep sudden drop in the cost of a single dairy cow in the US. And now a single cow could only fetch between $90 and $380.

Not quite sure if I smell a "rat" going on there  or what....
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#10
Quote:However....now I learn there has been a steep sudden drop in the cost of a single dairy cow in the US. And now a single cow could only fetch between $90 and $380.

You make an interesting point. The barns would have been insured. I presume the cows were insured.
They could certainly be replaced for less that they originally cost. 
There is also less demand for dairy products. People are choosing alternatives that are plant based.
I want to know what the dairy farm does now? Do they rebuild. How do they rebuild. 
Is there something going on? 

Manitoba Animal Save is determined to keep the memory of the dead cows alive. They held a memorial vigil for the cows.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/...-1.5251010

Good for Manitoba Animal Save. They are making this story about the animals and not the dairy farmer. 
It is the animals that paid the price and suffered.  Any changes in building codes need to be about animal safety.
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Catherine

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