Iowa man arrested after hundreds of pigs die from neglect

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has been arrested after hundreds of pigs died at his farm last month after they went without adequate food and were kept in conditions so cold that some of their ears froze off.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Black Hawk County sheriff’s deputies arrested the 38-year-old man Monday on one count of livestock neglect, a misdemeanor.

Court records say he had been hired to raise 2,500 baby pigs until they reached around 280 pounds. The animals were delivered to his farm in rural Cedar Falls in late December with 15 tons of feed.

A consultant found by Dec. 30 that 800 of the pigs had died. Others died later.