Days of Pigs

Someone turned loose what look like 8 pot bellied pigs in two different communities in the Litchfield Hills last week.  Three of the pigs, which animal control officers estimate to be 125-150 pounds, have been wandering the area of Romford Rd. in Washington, while 5 more turned up on private property in the Town of Kent.  The Danbury News Times has the story:

'"It took about one week for the word to finally get around town. Now, everywhere I go, that's all I hear, 'How are the pigs doing?' Animal Control Officer Cynthia Brissett said Wednesday.

Brissett, who has been feeding them every day, said she wants to find a safe place, like a special sanctuary, for them. But first she has to catch them.

Five pigs, who Brissett thinks are from the same litter, were also discovered around the same time in Kent, but because they ended up on private property, town officials there aren't taking action like Washington officials are, Brissett said.

The Kent pigs are 'wandering on private property up there,' Brissett said, adding the propety owner, whose name she declined to reveal, feeds them."

Pot bellied pigs are kept by some people as pets but with any exotic animal, having them in the home is a great responsibility and not without complications.  And anyone who has a pair of these animals in the house and does not spay or neuter them is asking for a litter.  Needless to say, whoever abandoned the pigs is as irresponsible and thoughtless as someone who drowns kittens.

Comments

[GreenmanTim]

BioTunes, I was thinking more along the lines of what being a responsible pet owner is all about than the ability of feral pigs to adapt to the Litchfield Hills. We do have coyotes that would give them a bit of a start, maybe reduce the numbers of piglets that survive to join the sounder, but the big issue is indeed environmental as you describe. That, and some people are really thoughtless.

[Biotunes]

It's funny you compare this to drowning kittens, because my perspective is that it is not an animal rights issue at all (since we've eliminated any predators that might do in these beasts) but an environmental one. Hopefully, pot bellied pigs are domesticated enough that they would not survive in the wild, but what is frustrating here is continued ignorance of the environmental destruction that can occur when we let our 'pets' go, be they snakeheads from the tank or purple loosestrife from the garden. Hopefully the pot bellies would not be nearly as destructive as the other feral pigs wreaking havoc all over the country, but that supposition is no excuse.

And in case you think I'm cold-hearted, a neighbor's pet pot bellied pig named Spammy was a very good friend of mine when I lived in Hawaii.

[Jenn]

I cannot resist...must shout...

I SMELL BACON!!!

:-)

Seriously though, they need to get those things into someone's home or an animal sanctuary or something - they should *not* be left in the wild. I hope the town, or better yet, the state can open a dialog with the property owner about resolving this.

[DWPittelli]

I don't know, seems to me like they've just given half a dozen people a very nice item to accompany a camp fire and a spit. Whereas the kitten-drowners have just made a distasteful mess.