Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Dangerous Allure Of The Pot Bellied Pig

Reading this story, about two stray pot-bellied pigs that wreaked havoc in an Idaho town, reminded me of the sad situation with respect to these animals that currently exists on Vancouver Island and the lower mainland of British Columbia.

Basically, the Vietnamese Pot-Belly became hugely trendy in these areas during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Great claims were made for their intelligence, their friendliness, and how they were more like a "member of the family" than a mere pet. What people did not understand was that, despite their diminutive size, they ate like pigs. Nowadays you can't give the damn things away, and in fact there exist pig adoption agencies for handling unwanted animals.

And while in some cases pig-owners adapted to the animals' requirements, or turned them over to a shelter, in too many cases they became pork steaks or, worse, were set free in the forests beyond town. As a result bands of feral pigs now roam the West Coast foothills, and are known to descend at night into the cities and terrorize the local pet population. Occasionally young children disappear, and when local search parties are formed these invariably find nothing, for the pigs have grown cunning from their time in the wild, and know the ways of men from their time in captivity. There are even rumours of children being captured and adopted into the pot-bellied nation, to be seen years later running around naked, wallowing in slop, and picking through garbage.

(See: the pig-boy of Naden Harbor).

Best to get a poodle, in other words.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recommend a .45-70 in a Marlin lever action.

Anonymous said...

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Bacon

Anonymous said...

The DELICIOUS allure of the pot-bellied pig.

Reality Bites said...

I heard there's been one terrorizing Laureen Teskey and her children

Anonymous said...

"wallowing in slop, and picking through garbage"

Sounds like a conservative caucus meeting choosing which bills to put forward.

Anonymous said...

Hugely trendy with fools with no knowledge of what farm animals are really like. Too much Disney, not enough reality. Same people think Bambi is real.

Anonymous said...

"I heard there's been one terrorizing Laureen Teskey and her children"

what ? is Steffi dressing up in a pig suit in a desperate attempt to get some good poll numbers ? Figures. His is utterly useless at anything else.

He'll try anything

Anonymous said...

what ? is Steffi dressing up in a pig suit in a desperate attempt to get some good poll numbers ? Figures. His is utterly useless at anything else.

He'll try anything

Anonymous said...

Oh, darn...I had my eyes closed in that picture.

Anonymous said...

Only a Liberal would be so vicious, so hateful, as to make derogatory comments about a woman's appearance in lieu of political critique. Disgusting.

Raging Ranter said...

I heard there's been one terrorizing Laureen Teskey and her children.

Like the PM's security detail would ever let Libby Davies anywhere near his family.

Raging Ranter said...

A much bigger problem is wild boars escaping from farms. Those buggers get free and instantly disappear into the heaviest brush and most overgrown swamps they can find. Even if they have to take cover within a city it can be hard to get rid of them. Edmonton had a half-dozen living in the North Sask Valley park system for years - not sure if they ever did destroy or capture them all.

Anyway, they disappear into the wilderness and start breeding and first thing you know they're competing with the local wildlife for food and territory; and winning. Even moose can't compete with them. The Canadian winter doesn't bother them either apparently. They can adapt to anything.

Anonymous said...

Again, I recommend a .45-70 in a Marlin lever action.

Anonymous said...

Or are you implying another kind of "dangerous allure"?

Anonymous said...

It's a beautiful pig! A typical pig has a large head with a long snout but this one is different, I saw it at buy cialis which is strengthened by a special prenasal bone and by a disk of cartilage at the tip.

Unknown said...

Oh man I hate that wild boar look so dangerous.

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