925 Pigs on Pennsylvania Farm Found Dead From Neglect

(Nov. 16) -- It's a murder mystery of porcine proportions: 925 pigs were found dead on a Pennsylvania farm, apparently the victims of neglect. Police are investigating the remains to determine whether to bring criminal charges.

"We are trying to determine exactly what happened," State Police Lt. Gregory Bacher told the Philadelphia Inquirer, saying that he has never seen such animal cruelty on this scale in his 26 years in law enforcement.

Every year, a few stories surface about animals that farmers have left to die in the fields, as in the bizarre cases of more than 100 cow deaths in Colorado this spring. Cases of this proportion, however, are rare.

The pigs were tightly packed in a warehouse and had no way of fending for themselves, in addition to being hidden from the view of anyone who might have reported the situation. And they appeared to have been dead for several months. The farmer who owned them, Daniel Clark, had been gone since August, when he went through a bitter divorce.

Some organizations, like "Farm Sanctuary," specialize in rescuing neglected farm animals. They're calling for extreme legal action to be taken against Clark.

"These pigs died a horrible death, struggling for freedom, and no one came to their rescue. There is absolutely no excuse for this unconscionable neglect, and the people responsible for this tragedy should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," the group said in a statement.

The farmer is likely already hurting, however, and not just from his divorce. For those less concerned with animal welfare, the pigs represent a loss of about $100,000 at current market prices.

Read more at the Philadelphia Inquirer.