CAMP SKIPPING PIG  SANCTUARY

 

 

"Of all the creatures, man is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. The fact the man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot."

Mark Twain

It's estimated that about 90% of pet pigs sold end up being surrendered to shelters and sanctuaries. Many don't stay in the original home for more than  two years.

Breeders abound and it's all about the money. They are producing more pigs than can possibly be absorbed by the shelters, rescues and sanctuaries. They will sell to anyone with the money, not caring about the buyer's zoning, ability to care for a pig or ability to provide proper housing, willingness to make a lifetime commitment to one, or willingness to keep it once the advertised size has been exceeded and the buyer finds out he's been duped. They will lie about proper feeding, causing starvation and early deaths and health issues in the pigs purchased by people who don't know any better than to listen to the breeder. Until the "greeders" stop producing and pet pigs are no longer dumped by the thousands, there will be a need for sanctuaries to take them in and thousands will die because we cannot save them all. 

Many of our pigs come with very sad stories. They've suffered from all kinds of abuse and neglect. Some have come from the homes of well educated, articulate professionals, who you'd never suspect would cause such harm to a helpless animal in their care. Whether it's from ignorance, misinformation from a breeder, a lack of caring, lack of time, or whatever...there's no excuse for the conditions some of our pigs have lived in or the condition in which they've arrived. As you read their stories, remember, these are the ones with a happy ending. There are untold thousands that no-one is helping, abandoned, languishing hidden away in barns, apartments, back yards, garages...even basements, just as Swilbur was. If you see abuse or neglect, don't just stand by and hope someone else will take care of it. If you are a witness to it, it then becomes your responsibility to speak up and help those innocents who can't speak for themselves. And it bears repeating...controlled breeding, rather than indiscriminate breeding and selling of unspayed and unneutered animals will go a long way to prevent this type of suffering, regardless of the species. In the meantime, with so many unwanted pigs, there is NO EXCUSE to breed!

  Some of our pigs came from the breeder in NY who's property is pictured below. It is literally a garbage dump and the pigs are poorly sheltered. Some are in small pens with no shade, shelter, or protection from the weather. Available shed-like structures are in disrepair and don't offer adequate winter protection. They are in danger of blowing down in a good storm. The babies are often inbred and all have mange. This man buys unknown pigs from a local livestock auction for about $2 apiece...littermates, whatever... and takes them home to breed. There are no records regarding where they came from, age, health, relationship to each other...nothing. If they don't reproduce, they go back thru the sale or are killed. He can't tell if a female is spayed, so he has a high turnover. The older pigs he buys to breed sell for only a dollar or two at the auction. He feeds plain corn, which certainly doesn't provide the proper nutrition a potbelly with no demands placed on it requires, let alone a nursing sow or her growing piglets. When people ask me about this breeder and buying a piglet from him, all I can tell them is that it's ill advised, but they'd be saving a pig's life. If they buy one of his piglets, they're looking at at least two months of treatment for mange and other parasites and possibly future, unforseen health issues due to inbreeding. However, the pigs I have taken in that originated at this location, when doctored and fed properly have developed into healthy individuals with no apparent long term health issues. A large portion of the abandoned pigs in WNY originated at this Forrestville, Chatauqua County property! Another Chatauqua County breeder sells her piglets out of the back of her vehicle at a local livestock auction for $50 each at about 4 weeks old. She will happily sell male and female siblings to any individual who plans to breed them.

 

These photos were taken at a potbelly pig breeder's property in Chautauqua County in Western N.Y. Though of poor quality, they show some of the conditions his pigs are living in. Buying from such a breeder is only encouraging him to produce more, but will likely save the life of a needy pig. Tough choice to make. Every pig I've taken in that originated from this breeder has had severe mange that's taken many treatments to resolve. The SPCA from this county did check on the pigs when I called, but told me that their "skin looked OK, with no signs of mange and that the conditions there were "acceptable for farm animals". However, the pigs on the property were constantly scratching against anything they could find, a sure sign of a severe infestation! And I personally have treated pigs from this property and can honestly say that a pig doesn't have to have open sores to have mange. Pigs with beautiful, healthy coats have come here with mange. A skin scraping won't necessarily show mites or eggs, so any pig exhibiting excessive itching should be presumed to have mange and should be treated! Humans can get mange from a pig that has it...been there, done that!

A family I know all caught mange from a piglet they bought at a local pet store. All seven had to be treated and the piglet, when tested, was found to have 40 eggs and 10 adult mites in a single scraping! It is rare that mites even show up in a scraping, let alone that many. For her entire short life, this pig had skin problems. If she was kept on antibiotics she'd do well, but shortly after being taken off them, her skin would become very sore and crusty. By the time she was three, she was severely crippled with arthritis and was euthanized.

 

 

Here is also a GREAT link to valuable information for anyone who wants or who already has a pet pig

Save it as a "Favorite" for quick reference!   http://www.minipiginfo.com/



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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