The carcase of a pig is suspended from a silo after the overflow of the river Ebro

Flooded farms and animals drowned by the Ebro overflow.

Aitor Garmendia
Aragón / Spain / March, 2015
Bank of the river Ebro // Aragón, Spanish state // March 2015

In early March, the river Ebro flows recorded an increase which caused serious inundations in many areas of its riberbank. The rise inundated more than 20.000 hectares in Aragon, including multitude of stockbreeding farms.

Practically the totality of mass media were only focusing on the economic losses and, while the politic dispute was served with the farmers as protagonists and while the political parties campaigned, thousands of animals were drowning in farms and no one seemed to care.

According to the «Chunta Aragonesista», more than 10.000 animals were found dead in those farms. The farmers abandoned them to their fate in closed units or grille places without any chance to escape in the middle of the flood that reached a height of eight meters. Pigs hanging on places that were impossible to reach by themselves; bodies piled up on the corridors of the farms, surviving animals —many of them in state of hypothermia— still dying after days without safe drinking water. veterinary care, shelter or food; pigs still alive on trucks, locked inside under dozens of bodies that were stacked by the excavator, those who would surely die of suffocation; or mountains of calfs near the garbage at the entrance of a farm, are some of the multiple situations that one could face at the epicenter of this tragedy.

Vista general granjas inundadas río ebro

Decenas de granjas con animales dentro quedaron aisladas como consecuencia del desbordamiento del rio Ebro.

Carcasses of pigs stacked on the outskirts of a farm after being removed from the inside of the farm because of the floods suffered by the overflood of the river Ebro.

Carcasses of pigs stacked on the outskirts of a farm after being removed from the inside of the farm because of the floods suffered by the overflood of the river Ebro.

Operario recoge cerdos muertos granjas anegadas río Ebro

Las escenas se repetían. Cientos de cádaveres de cerdos apilados en las afueras de las granjas afectadas.

Operarios recogen cerdos muertos granjas anegadas río Ebro

Two operators equipped with biosafety suits remove the carcasses from a flooded farm after the floods. One of them explained that they beated the surviving pigs to death with a stick since they were no longer useful for food purposes.

An operator equipped with a biosafety suit observes a pile of carcasses in one of the farms affected by the overflood of the river Ebro.

An operator equipped with a biosafety suit observes a pile of carcasses in one of the farms affected by the overflood.

Cuerpos de cerdos muertos colgados de la granja tras las inundaciones del río Ebro

Algunas granjas fueron sepultadas y los cuerpos de los cerdos que aparecían colgados de lugares donde nunca hubieran llegado así lo demostraban.

Bodies of drowned pigs inside of a farm.

Bodies of drowned pigs inside of a farm. Thousand of pigs were drowned while being locked in farms buried by the water of the overflood of the river Ebro.

A pig, lied down among several carcasses, after having survived the overflood. After three days, dozens of dying pigs in state of hypothermia were still locked in that farm.

A pig, lied down among several carcasses, after having survived the overflood. After three days, dozens of dying pigs in state of hypothermia were still locked in that farm.

Several operators remove the carcases of pigs

Several operators remove the carcases of pigs with the help of a tractor, just before the decomposition begins and become a public health problem. In some areas it was necessary to wait up to three days for the removal of carcases because of the height reached by the flood.

Operarios sacan cadáveres cerdos granja inundada río Ebro

Los cadáveres de los cerdos eran sacados con excavadoras. Miles de cerdos perecieron ahogados por el agua.

Several operators remove the carcases of pigs

Los cadáveres de los cerdos eran sacados con excavadoras. Miles de cerdos perecieron ahogados por el agua.

The shovel of a tractor loads the trailer of one of the trucks responsible of the removal of carcase

The shovel of a tractor loads the trailer of one of the trucks responsible of the removal of carcase.

Corderos apilados en camiones en las inundaciones del río Ebro

En esta granja los cuerpos muertos de los corderos eran depositados en camiones de obra.

Corderos apilados en camiones en las inundaciones del río Ebro

Una pala excavadora deposita decenas de cadáveres en el camión de la empresa encargada de la limpieza.

Corderos apilados en camiones en las inundaciones del río Ebro

Un operario deposita varios cuerpos de corderos muertos en una pala excavadora.

Terneros muertos y apilados en una granja afectada por las inundaciones del río Ebro

Mientras que los habitantes de las zonas más afectadas fueron desalojados ante el peligro que corrían sus vidas a los animales no se les dió ninguna oportunidad. Murieron ahogados sin poder salir de las granjas y de los establos donde se encontraban encerrados.

Notes

[1] Más de 20.000 hectáreas de cultivos anegadas por la crecida del Ebro.
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[2] El PACMA denuncia la muerte de animales por la crecida del Ebro y la ausencia de un plan de evacuación.
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[3] El Ebro alcanza los ocho metros de altura a las puertas de Zaragoza y el nivel sigue subiendo.
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