"Pretty amazing animals, probably not something we are suppose to know, else the pig industry wont be able to justify its treatment of these intelligent social animals. As long as we think they are meat on legs and put our efforts to more "intelligent" animals worthy of our attention they will continue to keep these beautiful loving animals in terrible conditions."
People's mindset is the same with sheep. Since having a pet sheep, I've gone from thinking they're brainless, to knowing they are very intelligent. Granted, they don't usually get housed in the same disgusting conditions as the pigs and chooks, but they are still classed as meat on legs and that's about it (excluding wool sheep).
My sheep understands multiple words and hand signals (I have video evidence), he does quite a few tricks, which he learned much faster than a dog. I can't get him to sit though!! He's house trained. It's like having a kid in the house, there's certain words that we can't say, because he knows what we're saying. Biscuits are known as 'B C items'. B C is short for Blue Container, because they're in a blue ice cream container. That name will have to change soon because he learns what our new name for them is. That's why blue container got changed to B C.
They have amazing memories and don't forget a face. We got the sheeps nuts and tail banded in Nov 07. The friend that did it didn't see him until a few months ago (probably in June?) and the sheep wouldn't have anything to do with him. Anyone can do anything with this sheep (except pick his feet up), yet he runs from this bloke. It was well over a year and we all believe it was because he remembered what mate did to him. When it's feed time, we ask if he wants dinner and he'll come from wherever he is and touch our leg with the top of his head. A different friend fed him one weekend, mid '08 and when he was here a few weeks ago, he asked the sheep if he wanted dinner and the sheep went and touched his leg with his head. Anyone else asks him if he wants dinner, he just goes and stands where his food is kept.
I agree that we can all be hypocrites. I know how badly chooks and pigs get treated, yet I still buy meat. It used to play with my head sometimes, so I told myself that what's on that tray was never an animal. It was manufactured in the supermarket on the trays. I don't eat a lot of meat, maybe once a week, if that, but i still eat it.
I think it's great that you give your pigs a great life before the end. There was a doco on either ABC or SBS last year about a bloke that has got a small self sufficient farm and he takes in people, like junk food junkies and shows them where food comes from and to show them how much better home grown food is. Each week an animal was humanely slaughtered and then processed, and then prepared and cooked by the visitors. He got someone in to do the killing, because he wasn't confident enough to do it himself. All his animals were raised with love, sunshine, good food, wide open spaces. The visitors had to spend time with all the animals, to get to know them, to show them that they did have unique personalities. I wish I could remember what it was called. It really made me appreciate that some animals are here to serve a purpose, to feed us, but at the same time, it showed they were worthy of a good life while they were alive. I already knew that, but I don't think a lot of the public appreciate what goes on in the intensive farming industry.
Good on you for giving your pigs a purpose and a bloody good life until they serve that purpose! Pigs rock!
Sorry for such a long message, I got a bit carried away.
Jane