Jezebel: Pigs

Oh God This Bulldog Adopted Piglets

Anna North — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST

This tolerant bulldog's name is Baby, and she has adopted six orphaned wild boar piglets at an animal sanctuary in Germany. And there are lots of photos! If you like cuteness, it is your lucky day. More »

California Can Totally Keep Killing Wobbly Pigs

Anna North — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:40:00 EST

The Supreme Court has struck down a California law that would have kept slaughterhouses from killing "sick or wobbly pigs." Before you get too grossed out, their rationale was that the federal government already has rules for dealing with sick pigs: said Justice Elena Kagan, "The federal law establishes rules for handling and slaughtering non-ambulatory pigs brought to a slaughterhouse, rather than ordering them returned to sender." These federal restrictions are apparently less stringent, though, because the straightforwardly-named National Meat Association is psyched about the Supreme Court decision. More »

Pigs May Have Evolved To Wallow

Anna North — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:50:00 EDT

Some scientists have said that pigs wallow in mud because they lack sweat glands and need an alternate way to stay cool. However, one researcher thinks it may be the other way around: maybe they "did not evolve functional sweat glands like other ungulates because they liked wallowing so much." They may have retained the behavior from their water-loving relatives, such as whales. Also, here is an adorable pig who wears rubber boots because she is afraid of mud. More »

Happy Hump Day!

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:40:00 EST

[SNOW BOAR-D: Horace Spot and Hector Hog, both Kuni pigs, enjoy the recent snowfall. Ruthin, North Wales, December 28. Additional shot after the jump. Images via Pacific Coast News Online.]

I Ain't Gonna Work On Nanny's Farm No More

Anna Holmes — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:10:00 EDT

[London, March 24. Image via Getty]

Angelina To Play Scarpetta; Depp Wants To Free West Memphis Three

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST

Uh-oh. This could be controversial, if you have read the books: Angelina Jolie will play Kay Scarpetta of the bestselling Particia Cornwell mystery novels.

The CEO Of Hooters Is Shocked, Shocked! To Find Disrespectful Behavior At His Restaurants

Irin Carmon — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:30:00 EST

Hooters CEO Coby Brooks' turn on Undercover Boss: "There are lines you don't cross." Good to know at a company whose female employees have to sign their assent to "joking and innuendo based on female sex appeal." [Mediaite] More »

Doctor Claims He Was Framed In Miscarriage Case • Gay Couple Refused Right To Wed In Moscow

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:20:00 EDT

• Dr. Edwin Erin, who, as we mentioned earlier today, has been charged with poisoning his pregnant lover, is claiming that Bella Prowse spiked her own drink in an attempt to frame him. • More »

Pigs In Zen

Anna Holmes — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:10:00 EDT

[Peasedown, England; August 17. Image via Getty]

Roo The Day

Anna Holmes — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:40:00 EDT

What would A.A. Milne say? Pigs are suffering from flu; bears are being abused for "medicine"; now, thousands of kangaroos are being shot to death in Australia. [Times, HuffPo, The Awl, Guardian] More »

Breaking: Pigs Do, Indeed, Fly

Hortense Smith — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EDT

[Sydney, April 10. Image via Getty.]

Oprah Investigates "Animal Factories"

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EDT

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Today's Oprah focused on California's Prop. 2, which would mandate more humane living conditions for farm animals bred for food. People supporting Prop. 2 are looking out for animals' best interests, in hopes that pigs, cows, chickens, etc. can spend at least a portion of their lives with some mobility. (Most animals are confined in small cages or pens, leaving them only enough room to lay down or stand up... never turn around.) Those opposed argue that putting mandates on farms will be prohibitively expensive, causing some farmers to go out of business, while others will just ship in eggs and meat from Mexico instead of producing it themselves. In the clip above, Lisa Ling visits a pig farm in which sows live immobile in gestation stalls for three years until they can no longer get pregnant, and are then slaughtered. It's heartbreaking because pigs are so adorable and smart...and bacon is so delicious. More »

TGIF

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:50:00 EDT

Disgusting Pigs: Update

Maria — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:20:00 EDT

MowMar LLP, the owners of the pig farm in Greene County, Iowa that was infiltrated by PETA and accused of horrific abuses against the animals, has condemned the actions of its workers and says it plans on taking steps to avoid further abuses. MowMar officials reportedly met with PETA officials on Thursday to talk about correcting abuses and the company also plans on bringing in an animal-handling expert to review procedures. The farm may even install video-monitoring equipment to ensure that the pigs are being treated humanely. Additionally, the Greene County Sheriff announced on Thursday that authorities plan on bringing charges against the abusers caught by PETA. [MSNBC] More »

Disgusting Pigs

Maria — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:40:00 EDT

Undercover investigators from PETA have shot a video depicting physical, and possibly even "sexual" abuses against pigs at a pig farm in Iowa. The footage shows farm workers hitting sows with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor, and discussion of shoving rods into the orifices of sows. The farm is a supplier to Hormel Foods, which makes Spam and other food products. The farm ownership was transferred over the summer (when the PETA investigators were working) from Natural Pork Production II LLP to MowMar LLP. Both of the companies condemned the violence and expressed a commitment to "animal welfare and humane handling" and that the pork industry is "full of good people." [AP] More »

Oink

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:40:00 EDT

Olga Murray, who lives in California, wanted to keep poor Nepalese families from selling their daughters into slavery. So she's offering them pigs instead. Murray founded a non-profit called The Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation, which gives piglets — which, grown, fetch the same $35-75 buyers would pay for a girl — in exchange for promises the girls will be sent to school. Already, this switcheroo has saved 3,000 girls. [San Francisco Chronicle, via Newser. Related: NYOF] More »

Pig Face

Maria — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:20:00 EDT

Mm, pork may be delicious, but is it a wrinkle fighter? The FDA has approved a new porcine collagen filler that is said to last longer than old skool collagen derived from bovines (question: WTF are these people putting in their faces? The entire contents of a butcher shop?). Dermatologists are all abuzz about the filler's potential but also concerned about its appeal to people who keep kosher. Wonder what these rabbis would have to say about the development? [W Magazine] More »

This Little Piggy

Slut Machine — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:30:00 EST

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a piglet was born with a series of heart-shaped spots on him. Usually such biological anomalies are from places like Japan, where all things cute seem to originate, but this little guy is from a farm in Gloucester, England, and was given the appropriate name of Valentine. [Daily Mail] More »

The New Bra You Never Take Off

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:30:00 EDT

Some of us really need support. From bras, that is. But over on Feministe, we read about the "internal bra" and shuddered. Developed in Israel and tested on pigs (uh, is that Kosher?), the "internal bra" works via a surgically-attached harness on the ribcage. According to news aggregator Israel21c, the MIM (Minimally Invasive Mastopexy), also known as the "Cup&Up," is safer and less damaging than other popular breast procedures, combatting sagging and giving breast tissue the support that it needs. Dr. Eyal Gur, who invented the concept, swears it's not so bad! More »