The owners of a hog barn in central Manitoba could face jail time for allowing pigs to starve to death.
The Manitoba government filed 23 charges last week against Martin and Delores Grenier of Notre Dame de Lourdes under the Manitoba Animal Care Act.
The multiple charges against the Greniers fall into three main categories, said the province’s chief veterinary officer, Wayne Lees.
“One is under the act itself, things like failing to provide adequate water, food and shelter,” he said.
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The second category of charges involves keeping livestock in facilities under disrepair, where pigs were likely to get injured.
Under the third category, the province is accusing the Greniers of failing to abide by recommended codes of practice for the care and handling of farm animals.
In June, Manitoba Agriculture employees and RCMP officers were called out to the Greniers’ farm after concerned neighbours notified authorities.
They discovered hundreds of dead and starving pigs inside the hog barn, which led to the subsequent investigation and criminal charges.
“In rough figures… several hundred animals had to be euthanized,” Lees said. “There were hundreds of carcasses or parts of carcasses. And approximately 2,000 animals were removed alive from the barn.”
The Manitoba government amended its Animal Care Act in September and doubled the fines for violations of the act.
The Grenier case occurred in June, meaning each charge against them carries a maximum fine of $5,000 and a maximum of six months in jail.
Manitoba Pork Council chair Karl Kynoch said charges were necessary in the case.
“We fully endorse what the provincial veterinarians have done here,” he said, adding the case was highly unusual. He couldn’t recall a similar incident in the province.
“This case is so isolated. I think a lot of the public realizes that this is not the norm in the industry,” he said.
“We’re also trying to get more information out to the public about what we (pork producers) do for proper animal welfare.”
Lees didn’t know if the Greniers are still farming or are in the livestock business.
However, the hog barn that housed the dead and dying animals burned down days after the case made headlines in June.
The Greniers’ court date is scheduled for the middle of December.
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