Final Fans

Archive for the ‘Animals/Pets’ Category

To call a man a “pig,” or a woman a “sow,” is one of the worst insults in our common speech. This fact testifies not to the nature of pigs, but to our beliefs about them, and only shows how far out of touch we are with these animals. The commonly held image of pigs as greedy, fat, and filthy creatures, gross beasts who eat anything that isn’t fastened down, and who selfishly indulge their basest instincts without a trace of sensitivity, could hardly be farther from the truth. Pigs actually have one of the highest measured I. Q.’s of all animals, surpassing even the dog. They are friendly, sociable, fun-loving beings as well. One person very familiar with pigs was naturalist W. H. Hudson. He wrote in his acclaimed Book of a Naturalist:
“I have a friendly feeling towards pigs generally and consider them the most intelligent of beasts, not excepting the elephant and the
anthropoid ape. . . I also like his attitude towards all other creatures, especially man. He is not suspicious, or shrinkingly submissive, like horses, cattle and sheep; not an impudent
devil-may-care like the goat; nor hostile like the goosç nor
condescending like the cat; nor a flattering parasite like the dog. He views us from a totally different, a sort of democratic standpoint as fellow-citizens and brothers, and takes it for granted, or grunted, that we understand his language, and without servility or insolence he has a natural, pleasant, camerados-all or hail-fellow-well-met air with us. “‘
In the common mind, pigs are disgusting creatures, but in fact the only thing disgusting about pigs is our attitude towards them. They are playftil, sensitive, friendly animals, who like to roll around and rub on things, and consider the earth their home and not something with which to avoid contact. In a state of nature, pigs love to wallow in the mud, just as stags and buffaloes and many other animals do, especially in the hot days of summer when flies are most troublesome. But pigs don’t love mud for its own sake. They use it to cool themselves off, and to gain relief from the flies. They enjoy themselves exuberantly because it is their way to enjoy what they do with robust good nature. People who have seen them in mud have accused them of being filthy animals, not understanding their simple love of the earth. However, when living in anything even remotely resembling their natural conditions, pigs are as naturally clean as any other forest creature.2 If at all possible, they will never soil their own bedding, eating, or living areas.
But for many years it was the belief in Europe that the filthier the state in which a pig was kept, the better tasting the pork would be. Hence it became commonplace for pigs to be kept in a fashion that made it impossible for them to stay clean. Even then, though, they would often go to great lengths to maintain as clean a living situation as they could manage.

In our human blindness concerning the feelings, intelligence, and sensitivity of animals, there is one in particular about whom we’ve been most wrong. If it were possible to measure our misunderstanding about our fellow creatures on some giant scale, our ignorance of this particular animal might well be the greatest of all. This is an animal who has been abused and ridiculed by people for centuries, but who is actually a friendly, forgiving, intelligent and good natured animal when he isn’t mistreated. I am talking, you may be surprised to find out, about the pig.