2008 Midwest Flood Pig Rescue

Safe at last, one of the pigs rests in our trailer after rescue.

Having finally received approval from the state of Iowa to enter the Oakville area, Farm Sanctuary’s emergency rescue team (along with IFAW, AHA and ARL) was able to head out on the water this morning to assess the situation on a 16 to 20 mile stretch of levee where an indeterminate number of pigs are stranded. On this mission, the rescue coalition will search for the pigs and bring them food. We still don’t know what we will find out there, or what condition the pigs will be in, but we remain hopeful and will do everything we can to bring any survivors safely home. Meanwhile, we are happy to report that we have rescued more pigs in and around the town of Oakville, making a total of eight beautiful pigs now in our custody. All of the animals were severely dehydrated and are badly sunburned, others are injured and sick, but volunteers are now working to keep them comfortable and safe until they make the trip back to our New York Shelter. They will arrive on Monday! We also have another lucky pig in our custody in Illinois and we hope to see her to sanctuary soon, too.