Nearly 63,000 animals were killed in barn fires last year

Nearly 63,000 animals were killed in 43 barn fires in the Netherlands last year, according to figures from the insurance industry.

The number of fires is unchanged from 2023, but the number of animals killed is higher, despite government pledges to introduce new safety measures.

In particular, annual electricity checks, which should have come into force last year, need to be implemented more quickly, the Verbond van Verzekeraars said. “Measures were proposed in 2021 but we are now four years further on,” said director Richard Weurding.

The biggest fire last year occurred in January, when 54,000 hens died in a blaze at a poultry farm.

Around one in five fires are caused by faults in electrical systems, while a similar proportion are the result of maintenance work. But no cause is ever found for some 40% of the fires because the buildings have been so badly damaged.

Animal welfare group Wakker Dier has long campaigned for action to reduce the number of barn fires. It says farmers should ensure there is enough water on site to extinguish a fire, and install sprinkler systems and fire alarms. It also wants formal rules on the number of animals that can be kept in enclosed areas of barns, and says barns should have escape routes.

Despite the death toll, the government has been slow to implement changes and in October 2023, the Dutch Safety Board said that recommendations made in 2021 to reduce the number of deadly barn fires have largely been ignored.

Farm minister Femke Wiersma told MPs on Thursday that she is working on a package of measures to improve animal safety on farms, including the option of stricter inspections of electrical systems and barn design.

These proposals will be finalised in the autumn, she said.