WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND (RNN) - British firefighters who saved a litter of piglets from a February barn fire were rewarded by the farmer with a dinner of sausages made from the same pigs.
Eighteen piglets and two sows made it out alive when the men of the Pewsly Fire Station snatched them away from 60 metric tons of blazing hay, the BBC reported.
Six months later, they were dinner.
Farmer Rachel Rivers, who donated the sausages for a celebratory barbecue, said, “I’m sure vegetarians will hate this."
She was right about that.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) lashed out, saying the piglets were no better off for having been rescued.
A spokeswoman said the organization was sending the fire and rescue team packs of vegan sausage to show them “how easy it is to be there for pigs – by sparing them all suffering.”
Rivers defended her actions saying that farming is how she made her living, and that rewarding the firefighters with sausage was appropriate.
“An inevitable part of farming is the death of an animal which gives us the food to eat," said farm owner Canon Gerald Osbourne.
The fire service saved these pigs bacon in February, now they've had them as sausages! pic.twitter.com/UyZmAYvMiz
— BBC Wiltshire (@BBCWiltshire) August 23, 2017
The firefighters described the sausages as “fantastic” and “highly recommended.”
But the fire service pulled the photos of the feast from its Facebook page.
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