Some 37,000 animals died in factory farm fires in the Netherlands last year, well down on the 130,000 deaths recorded in 2022. However, the number of fires remained virtually unchanged at 43 compared with 42, according to insurance industry figures.

The downturn in the death toll is due largely to the lack of fires at poultry farms, where far more animals are affected. This January, 50,000 hens were killed in a fire at a farm in Gelderland, beating the 2023 total in one blaze.

Almost all the big fires were down to problems with the electrics, the VvV said.

“Despite all the attention for barn fires, we are still seeing too many,” VvV director Geeke Feiter said. “It is a disaster for both animals and farm companies.”

The association says that more needs to be down to improve fire safety standards at factory farms, such as introducing fire-proof compartments within the barn itself to help stop the spread.

Last October, the Dutch safety board said recommendations made in 2021 to reduce the number of deadly barn fires in the Netherlands have largely been ignored.

In May 2023, farming organisation LTO came out against the annual fire safety check which is due to be made compulsory from 2024. Instead, LTO is calling for five-yearly checks, saying this is a more realistic option because of the cost and the shortage of inspectors.