The building of the former John’s Little Farm animal park in Kallnach BE burned out late on Wednesday afternoon. According to a press release from the Bern cantonal police, neither people nor animals were injured.
The members of the Kallnach and Lyss fire departments, the Biel professional fire department and the Aarberg regional fire department were able to quickly bring the fire under control and finally extinguish the fire. A fire watch was set up following the extinguishing work.
John’s small farm had to close its doors forever at the end of August. Because the population in Kallnach voted against the necessary rezoning of the area into a zoo zone, the association searched in vain for a new location for the farm. As 20 Minutes reported, they ultimately gave all 460 animals to private individuals, zoos and other institutions.
Three weeks ago, the association launched the sale of the farm under operations manager John-David Bauder. But now the building is completely burned out.
The incident sparked intense speculation on Facebook. “In the end it was handled well and profitably. But at least the animals were spared,” writes a user of the online platform in one of the numerous posts about the fire. «Well, I have to admit, the timing is pretty striking. I don’t want to assume anything, but unfortunately that’s a fact. It was just advertised for sale,” says another.
“The situation is difficult enough for us,” says Renato Anneler, vice president of John’s small farm, to 20 Minutes. “Then reading such nasty comments makes the whole thing even worse.” Anneler firmly rejects the allegations that the club may have been set on fire. “John doesn’t own the facility, so it doesn’t belong to him. The fire does nothing to anyone, including our 150 members.”
According to Anneler, we don’t yet know what exactly caused the fire. The property damage was “a huge catastrophe” for the club. The Bern cantonal police have started investigating the cause of the fire and the amount of property damage.
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