The Flood

Posted on by The Crumby Vegan Posted in For the AnimalsTagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Imagine being locked in a room. Suddenly water begins to seep in from the windows and the cracks in the walls. There is no escape. The water slowly begins to rise and you start to panic. You try to keep your head above water until you can no longer. Then you give in. Your nose and throat begin to burn. Your stomach fills up with water. Then your lungs fill up with water. Then you die.

Hurricane Florence began at sea on the 31st of August 2018 and hit North Carolina (US) on the 14th of September. Hurricane Florence caused widespread destruction (over 27 people died) however this is far less than the damage that would have been caused if not for the fantastic evacuations that took place. There were evacuations of people, evacuations of domestic animals, even zoo animals when necessary, but the factory-farmed animals… they were left behind. 

North Carolina has the second highest number of pigs in the United States, so it comes as no surprise that over 5,500 pigs died during Hurricane Florence.

They were left in their barns to drown.

The cover photo at the top of this article shows a number of pig sheds that were submerged in water. I don’t want to argue whether the pigs would have a ‘better’ death by drowning, starvation or in a slaughter house. None of these should be an option. 

Pigs are often compared to dogs. They both have two ears, two eyes, four legs and one nose, but aside from the obvious they share a similar level of intelligence and awareness. So imagine if someone had left their 5,500 dogs to die in a barn during Hurricane Florence – there would be uproar! However, they were not dogs, they were pigs, and therefore there is no uproar outside of the vegan community. Far more concern has been shown for the farmers and the possible dip in their income. 

Sadly, pigs are considered to be merchandise. So the farmers were able to leave their pigs behind to die because they would get an insurance pay out for the loss of their “inventory”.  

The pictures above are of “merchandise” trying to escape the flooding from Hurricane Floyd that hit North Carolina on 15th of September 1999. The photos of pigs trying to escape Hurricane Florence have not been released yet. 

On top of everything else, 3.4 million chickens (huge number, right?!) are suspected to have died due to either drowning or starvation… But don’t worry, because the farmers will just breed more once they get a payout from their insurance provider.

Those 3.4 million lives didn’t matter to the farmer, but they matter to me.

If you’re not comfortable with the way animals are being treated on factory farms, then do something about it. 

Thanks for reading 💚

 

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38 thoughts on “The Flood”

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      I’m sorry to have upset you Jessica. I felt like this needed to be talked about to raise awareness though. I really appreciate you taking the time to read the post and I think it’s mega that you’re vegetarian 🙂

      Thank you for everything you do 💚

      Like

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      It’s great to hear that you’re vegetarian 🙂

      I totally understand why some don’t think of animals during natural disasters as they have other things to consider but something needs to be done. Thanks for reading 💚

      Like

  5. Reply
    Marya The BeauTraveler says:

    I am so sorry for what has happened with the hurricane and the floods. It’s heartbreaking to imagine what happened to those innocent animals. I hope this could be a lesson learned for anyone, especially those who decide to work closely with the animals since they can’t speak out in distress. 😦

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Unfortunately I very much doubt any lessons would have been learned as this happens during every hurricane that hits North Carolina. But as people that care, we can do what we can by not eating these animals and reducing the demand. Thank you for your mega comment 💚

      Like

  10. Reply
    klolszewski says:

    This is so disturbing…and more news on this: people were also forced to leave there pets behind during the rescuing process. They either had to come willingly or be arrested and STILL leave their pets behind.

    A group of people from animal shelters and the SPCA did go around trying to save as many as they could, though. But a woman was also fined for housing the pets of people trying to escape the flood….

    The world is a disturbing place, indeed.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      It’s not your fault that you haven’t thought about it before, in truth they don’t want us to think about it because then there would be more people against the factory farming industry and consequently less money for them! 💚

      Like

  12. Reply
    Britt says:

    I can’t even believe this! I have to be honest the thought of farm animals being left behind to drown never even occurred to me. I can’t believe how horrible this is, every life should be protected. There’s no reason in my eyes that these pigs had to die for someone to get an insurance check. 😭

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Reply
    Cheryl at The Lifestyle Digs says:

    It’s awful. They could have at least left the barn doors open and chased the pigs or other animals outside to let them fend in the hurricane and flood as best they could. There’s a lot of farmers that don’t have insurance. And there’s a lot of insurance that doesn’t cover flooding especially in high risk areas. Most of these farmers would rely on other government agencies that might assist in re-establishing themselves.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      I’ve heard that some farmers tried that during Hurricane Floyd many years ago, however they found that there were too many bloated, decomposing pig corpses everywhere and the cleanup was too big, hence they locked them in the shed this time 💚

      Like

  14. Reply
    Patricia G. says:

    Oh my word! That’s so sad! I think the farmers should have done more to protect their pigs and chickens, instead of leaving them to suffocate and die like that. I want to sign a petition to get the government to regulate how these farmers and ranchers treat their animals!

    Liked by 1 person

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