The internet is exploding with anger over the story of a
Vancouver couple who adopted
a pig from the BC SPCA and slaughtered her for food, claiming they were
unable to care for her.
Molly, a three-year-old Vietnamese potbellied pig, arrived at
the SPCA’s Cowichan shelter after a cruelty investigation. According to shelter
staff, she was nursed back to health and finally adopted last month. Sadly, only
a few weeks later, she had been slaughtered.
Vancouver Island resident and fellow pig guardian Brandee
McKee discovered what had happened to Molly through friends. She claims the couple
didn’t know how to properly care for Molly and, rather than trying to rehome
her, decided to kill her for food. Rightfully furious, McKee says, “Had this
been a cat or a dog there probably would have been charges.
Unfortunately, because animals are considered property under
Canadian law, it’s perfectly legal to kill a companion animal.
That these people would welcome a rescued pig into their
family only to slaughter her weeks later is truly deplorable. But sadly,
millions of pigs are violently killed every year in Canada and the United
States for food.
Pigs are incredibly smart. In fact, they’re considered the
fifth-most intelligent animal in the world—even more intelligent than dogs. And
like dogs and cats, pigs are playful and social. Despite this, the meat
industry treats them as mere objects.
Pigs raised and killed for food are taken from their mothers
at just 10 days old and have their tails cut off, their teeth clipped, and their
testicles ripped out without any painkillers. Piglets who are too sick or not
growing fast enough are gruesomely killed by being slammed
headfirst onto concrete floors or tossed into overcrowded gassing carts where
they slowly suffocate from CO2. Surviving piglets are packed together into
filthy pens.
While pigs in nature live for about 15 years, at
factory farms they are selectively bred to grow extremely fast, reaching
slaughter size in just six months. Sows are repeatedly impregnated and confined
in gestation crates—barren metal cages so small the animals are unable to turn
around.
After a life of torment, pigs are brutally slaughtered by
being hoisted upside down and having their throats cut.
Like Molly, pigs trapped at factory farms are kind,
sensitive, and smart. They have a will to live and a desire to be free. There’s
an obvious contradiction in loving some animals while eating others.
If Molly’s story leaves you outraged, then it’s time you
aligned your food choices with your values. Choose to leave pigs and all
other animals off your plate. Click here to get started. And check out
our Pinterest page for thousands of recipe ideas.