Danger of heartache
for pig rescue
"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us. Pigs meet us at eye level."
This quote from Winston Churchill has been with us for a very long time, but it was only recently that we really realised its depth.
We were called to a pig emergency involving a mother pig and her five piglets who could not be kept in the best possible conditions on site. April was too cold, the mother could not be sufficiently separated from the other pigs and the barn was too draughty. All not good conditions for raising adorable little piglets.
The animal owners were also painfully aware of this, so they asked us for help. Dr Marianne Wondrak (Gut Aiderbichl), who has turned her fascination with animal behaviour in general and pigs in particular into a profession, agreed to help. We would certainly find a solution for mum and children.
The Gut Aiderbichl animal rescuers optimistically set off for the farm where the mum pig lives. Once they arrived, it was confirmed that the pig kids would not fail due to a lack of love and care, but solely due to lack of accommodation and, ultimately, lack of space. “I took on minipigs two years ago. We had the boar castrated. A few days ago, I came into the barn and the female suddenly had 5 young,” said the perplexed owner, who couldn’t explain the situation.
"It's great that you want to give the mum pig and her children a home".
Motivated, we got the transport vehicle into position so that we could load the pigs well and take them to Gut Aiderbichl. However, it soon became clear that there was a problem. Dr Wondrak immediately recognised that the mother pig had an intimate relationship with the other pigs and did not want to be separated. On enquiry, we were confirmed that the group was a family.
“It would have broken my heart if I had torn the mum away from her friends. Pigs maintain an intense friendship with their mates and grieve deeply when they are torn from their herd. Family is very important to pigs, just like it is to us humans,” explained Dr Wondrak.
Without further ado, the owner was persuaded to part with all the pigs so that the family could stay together. He agreed and so boar Max, the eldest daughters May and April, pig mum Biggy with the children Tinkerbell, Darling, Nibs, Peter Pan and Wendy could become Aiderbichlers.
If you would like to find out more about the world of pigs, their behaviour and their incomparable intelligence, we can only recommend “Feel Good with Kune Kune Pigs”.
