Pigs of Paradise by T. R. Todd

Author:T. R. Todd
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510738867
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2018-03-05T16:00:00+00:00

Kerry Sanders from NBC’s Today Show featured the Swimming Pigs “phenomenon” in June 2016. The attraction lent itself extremely well to television, capturing the imagination of millions around the world. Credit: Charlie Smith.

A few clicks on the computer later, I saw the news story, broadcast to televisions across North America, all about the well-being of the pigs during this trying time.

Piglets would be placed in a protective shed; adults would have to fend for themselves.

The drama was unbearable.

Fortunately, the swimming pigs weathered the storm just fine. Exuma always seems to avoid the brunt of hurricanes, and Matthew would be no different. Life soon returned to normal. And, hey, the publicity was awfully nice.

But something crystallized for me at that moment—maybe because of my old journalism days. The endless barrage of articles and social media posts was numbing, almost superficial. This news story made me realize not only how famous the swimming pigs had become, but also just how much people seemed to care about them. That was clear by reading the endless comments from readers and viewers around the world.

People were worried about them.

But why? Globally, pigs are slaughtered by the millions each and every day—bacon, pork chops, ham, sausages. We eat the ears, feet, snouts, and use them in countless dishes and animal by-products.

Pigs are used for insulation, rubber, antifreeze, certain plastics, floor waxes, crayons, chalk, adhesives, and fertilizer. Lard is fat from pig abdomens and is used in shaving creams, soaps, makeup, and baked goods.

Many of us don’t give the welfare of pigs a great deal of thought in our day-to-day lives. We close our eyes and bite into that BLT. We relish those ribs.

So I wonder—why so much concern for a couple dozen pigs, living on an island in the Caribbean Sea? What does it say about them? And about us?

As it turned out, a simple hurricane was nothing compared to the proverbial storm to come, which would more eloquently reveal this rather schizophrenic relationship we have with animals—but more on that later.

Suffice it to say, the swimming pigs were a sleeping giant; after more than twenty years of relative anonymity, these animals shot to superstardom in less than two years. When Charlie and I made that film, we had no idea what was about to be unleashed.

There was no going back to sleep for these animals.

It was clear the swimming pigs—and Exuma—would never be the same.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.