Aug. 24-- A group of British firefighters who saved a litter of piglets in February were recently thanked by the farmer who owned them -- with a hearty meal of sausages.
The BBC reports that the Wiltshire firefighters at first said the bangers were "fantastic" but later said they were sorry after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) expressed distaste with the gesture, saying the piglets were "no better off" for escaping the fire.
"We recognise that this has caused offence to some - we apologise for this and as such have removed the post," the firefighters wrote in a Facebook post.
The farm's manager, Rachel Rivers, defended the gift by saying farming is her livelihood and a way of life.
"I gave those animals the best quality of life I could ever give until the time they go to slaughter and they go into the food chain," she told the BBC.
"You do feel sad at the end of it... but to bring them down for (the firefighters) was a good way of saying 'thank you'."
The farm's owner, Canon Gerald Osbourne, added: "An inevitable part of farming is the death of an animal which gives us the food to eat."
