dailypetfwd

-Pigs stolen from U.S. animal confinement operations
-Authorities believe higher hog prices are behind thefts
-Iowa and Minnesota farms suffer total theft of 910 pigs

By Mark Duell


Missing: A 'well-organised' pig theft operation may be why more than 1,000 hogs have been stolen from Midwest farms in the past few weeks (file picture)


Next time you cook some bacon in your kitchen, just think about the journey it might have been on before ending up on the frying pan.

A ‘well-organised’ pig theft operation may be why more than 1,000 hogs have been stolen from Midwest farms in the past few weeks, officials say.

Many thefts are happening at large animal confinement operations in Iowa and Minnesota, with pigs hauled off by the hundreds in trucks.


Such thefts in huge numbers are fairly rare - but the pigs are probably being sold to slaughterhouses as prices have increased in the last year.

At least 700 hogs have been stolen recently from facilities in Nicollet and Kandiyohi County in Minnesota, officials said.

In Mitchell County, Iowa, around 200 hogs have been stolen from farms. But no arrests have yet been made and no stolen pigs have been found.

Officials say they believe thefts in their own states are linked, but have not determined if the thefts in Minnesota and Iowa are connected.

The buildings where the hogs are kept at large animal confinement operations generally have side curtains raised and lowered for ventilation.

The thieves can gain entry by cutting through those and through netting that keeps birds out, investigators say.

Stolen: Many thefts are happening at large animal confinement operations in Iowa and Minnesota, with pigs hauled off by the hundreds in trucks (file picture)


The facilities involved also are in isolated locations.

‘Not many people drive by and this time of year they're surrounded by corn,’ said Nicollet County sheriff's investigator Marc Chadderdon.

He said it's not unusual for trucks to pull up to the facilities at all hours of the day and night to deliver feed or collect hogs ready for slaughter.

The thieves in Minnesota seem to be targeting specific facilities based on their location and the type of hogs they have, he added.

Mr Chadderdon said the thieves appear to be conducting surveillance first. The hogs stolen in Minnesota were all market ready at around 250lbs.

‘They wanted ones ready to be sold,’ Mr Chadderdon said. ‘There is a higher profit margin if you don't have to feed them.’

About 150 hogs, valued at about $30,000, were taken from Nicollet County - and 560 hogs were taken from Kandiyohi County, valued at $100,000.

Expensive: Such thefts in huge numbers are fairly rare - but the pigs are
probably being sold to slaughterhouses as hog prices have increased (file picture)


This time last year their hogs were selling for around $125 - but their market price has gone up to around $200, reported CNN.

‘If you're taking 500 of them, it's quite an operation - you're not going to do that by yourself,’ Mr Chadderdon said.

‘I've been here 17 years and we've had a couple or a half dozen stolen but nothing of this volume and not of this sophistication.’

Mitchell County Sheriff Curt Younker said three farms operated by Iowa Select Farms were broken into in recent weeks.

None of the buildings were locked, he said. In addition, one or two individual farmers also reported hogs stolen, the sheriff said.

He said most stolen hogs go directly to a processor who deals with the same people most of the time.

The animals taken from Mitchell were younger hogs that weigh around 50lbs, valued at about $50 per head - with an estimated loss of $10,000.


source:dailymail