HOSPERS, IOWA — An Alton man was arrested Friday after about 700 hogs were found dead in a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) near the northwest Iowa town of Hospers.
Keaven Faber, 24, is charged with animal neglect-death or serious injury, a serious misdemeanor under the Iowa Code.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s office received a report in mid-December claiming numerous feeder pigs had died at Faber’s hog confinement. An investigation by deputies discovered approximately 700 pigs had perished, allegedly due to neglect and lack of proper care.
Faber was arrested Jan. 20 and posted bond Jan. 22.
“Sioux County, where this shameful neglect took place, has 575 large livestock confinements, mostly hogs but a significant number of confined cattle and feedlots,” according to Stacy Hartmann of Minburn, director of Dallas County Farmers and Neighbors, an organization opposing livestock confinements. “There are about 20 chicken confinements as well and also some sheep. These are just the CAFOs large enough to make the DNR database, the ones with more than 500 animal units. Who knows how many smaller CAFOs there are in the county? Given the staggering number of CAFOs, the millions of animals they contain and the rural context, it is surprising this fellow was found out. One wonders how often these sorts of incidents occur.”
Faber is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 9 before Iowa District Court Associate Judge Robert J. Dull. Conviction on a charge of animal neglect carries a sentence of up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $1,875.
Pitifully heartbreaking. It would be better to give them away than to see them suffer.