I’ve only owned breeding pigs for a year and that is to put the term very loosely, as Mrs Pig has so far failed to produce any bacon seeds. We bought Boris the boar a couple of months ago, in the hope that a permanent partner may entice her to break the Ice Queen act! No babies in sight but Boris is a firm favourite around here already.
He is a lovely boy I have taught the kids never to go in with them unless I’m there. So they haven’t actually spent much time getting to know him. Oscar looks pretty nervous giving him a scratch at first and Ted was convinced he was dead He’s such a kind boar but they are big animals and all of them have the potential to be aggressive, so you have to be careful.
“Today he walked over to us, eyballed me and laid right down next to us before stretching his legs out in a pretty clear piggy request for a belly scratch. So we obviously obliged, although Ted was absolutely convinced that Boris was dead, and not sleeping!”
You don't have to be vegan to be compassionate! You can still eat meat and have empathy towards animals. We love our pigs, and yes we will raise piglets for our freezer, but I make sure I go above and beyond to meet their needs and provide them with a wonderful life, where they want for nothing. It also means, when they fill our bellies, we have the knowledge that the animal we are eating had the absolute best in life, are packed full of nutrition, and helps build my boys into strong, strapping farm lads.