New Mexico Rescue
There is an old adage that goes something like this: "Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see".
If you have been in the "pig community" for longer than, say, two months...you will realize that this saying is not only true...it is a gross understatement.
We, as a community, have long demonstrated that we are eager to jump to conclusions, quick to anger, and woefully slow to forgive. And, once we have made up our minds about something, we truly resent being pestered with trivial issues...like facts.
Another unique facet of the pig community is that we have developed a means of communication...a jungle telegraph, of sorts...that has to be the envy of both the CIA and the NSA. And thus "The Word"...good or bad...accurate or inaccurate...fact or rumor...travels quickly and insidiously into every nook and cranny of the pig community with lightning-like speed.
And so it was a month or so ago when the "news" broke that the local Sheriff's
Office in Tularosa, New Mexico was out shooting pigs at the home of a member of our community. In a flurry of posted and cross-posted emails and a few poor quality photographs of deadpigs the news spread quickly across the various pig lists.
In the predictably chaotic aftermath of this breaking story, a few of the more level heads among us thought to pick up the phone and talk to the Otero County, New Mexico Sheriff's Office. The information we received directly from the Sheriff's Office was substantially different from the information that was being posted on the lists. And, moreover, the Sheriff's Office was only too happy to provide us with written documentation and verification of the facts they presented to us.
The short, verifiable version of the story goes something like this:
There
was
a large group of pigs...potbelly/feral mixes of varying ages...living in
woefully substandard conditions at a private home in a very rural area
of
The owner of these pigs was unable to care for these pigs properly and was unable to keep them contained on her property.
The pigs
... un-neutered boars, sows and babies... were relatively free to roam the rural desert area in search of food and water. In short, the pigs were doing no more than trying their best to survive.Over a period of many months, the pigs had become a destructive nuisance to neighboring farms...destroying alfalfa fields, trying to gain entry into horse feed barns, and threatening those who attempted to drive them off. The pigs appeared to be both emaciated and "wild". Several of the sows had nursing babies with them.
Numerous and repeated attempts on the part of the neighbors and the Sheriff's
Department personnel to mitigate this problem with the owner of the pigs had proved futile. The problem with the pigs not only continued, but also began to escalate in both frequency and severity. It was reported, but never verified by the Sheriff's Department, that the pigs had bitten several people and horses. However, Dr. Hays, the veterinarian assisting us with the rescue, advised us that he had recently treated a neighbor's horse for what he believed to be a pig bite.The
Sheriff's Department was well aware of a host of other issues at the owner's property and had been taking steps to address them as well. These issues included the condition of the house and property and the demonstrated inability of the owner of the pigs to care for herself or her animals. A number of other county agencies were being called in to address the issue from several different perspectives...including social services and mental health professionals, zoning and structural experts, and experts from environmental services as well as the local animal control.On the day of the "incident", the Sheriff's
Department had been dispatched for yet another "pig incident" reported by neighbors. When confronted, the owner of the pigs gave the Sheriff's Department personnel permission to take control of the pigs and authorized the destruction of the pigs. Several pigs were shot by the Sheriff's deputies...reportedly only those pigs who showed aggressive behavior towards the deputies.
It is our
opinion, developed after the fact and with no concrete evidence to
support or refute our findings, that those pigs who were shot were
either "cornered" by the deputies and were responding out of fear or
they were pigs who were protecting young piglets and who may have
"charged" the deputies when threatened. Given the condition of the
pigs, the situation and the inexperience of the deputies in dealing with
pigs, this is a logical and entirely plausible explanation. We saw no
evidence of the willful and wanton destruction of pigs by the Sheriff's
deputies. Had they so chosen, the deputies could easily have shot every
pig on the premises.
The owner of the pigs was, in fact, arrested during this incident. However, a review of the arrest record and local court documents clearly show that she was arrested on a long-standing and totally unrelated bench warrant involving a motor vehicle registration violation. Her arrest, and subsequent quick release, had absolutely nothing to do with the pigs. In fact, the local jurisdiction appears to have gone out of their way to get the owner released expeditiously so that she could return home to care for her animals.
It was at this juncture that The Pig Preserve Association asked the Sheriff to be allowed to intervene in an attempt to save the remaining pigs. The Otero County Sheriff's
Department, as well as otherActing on extremely short notice, The Pig Preserve Association (working closely with the leadership of The Coalition of Pig Sanctuaries) was able to obtain a local veterinarian to assist us with the rescue. The TPPA, working with local resources, was able to buy feed for the pigs and make arrangements for their temporary care and feeding on site. TPPA was able to negotiate with the owner of the pigs for their release and obtained written permission to remove the pigs from the property.
A member of the board of TPPA and a non-affiliated sanctuary director from
California immediately flew to the scene; assessed the situation; rebuilt and strengthened all of the pens; provided clean water, adequate shelters and feed/forage for the pigs; built catch-pens; and assisted the veterinarian with the capture, neutering, blood testing, tagging and a medical examination on all of the mature pigs. Ten piglets were contained, captured and removed to the vet's air conditioned kennels to be cared for, neutered, have blood drawn, and have microchips implanted. They were held in the kennels until such time as transport could be arranged.On Friday, May 23, 2007 all of the pigs and piglets were transported from the property to
Ironwood Sanctuary in
Summary:
Things are not
always as they seem at first blush. With no intent to demean or degrade
the owner of these
pigs, it is obvious that
this rescue was made necessary by the owner's inability to deal with her
life situation over a long period of time. The incident with the pigs
is but one facet of a complex and steadily deteriorating situation,
which the officials in
The owner of the pigs cares very much for the pigs. This was evident to those of us on the scene. But, by her own admission, she is unable to properly care for the pigs and she was willing to release them to us knowing that they would be going to homes where they would be safe and well cared for. She fully acknowledges that she has issues in her life with which she needs to address and manage, and until they are resolved, she has no business attempting to care for any animals.
Those of us involved in this rescue are not mental health professionals. We are pig experts. And thus, we have no right to diagnose or judge the human aspects of this case.
Our goal, from the outset, was to save as many pigs as we could. In this we were very successful...thanks to the help of a large number of people both in and out of the pig community. But even the most naive among us can readily acknowledge that there is a human part of this equation which must be dealt with by those who are trained to do so. We have tried to ensure that the wheels are in motion to provide this intervention and help. And we are confident that this will happen now that the pigs are safe.
This was an
expensive undertaking for the TPPA...and the expenses are not over with
by any stretch of anyone's imagination. We still have 22 pigs and
piglets needing good homes and transport from
On a final note: The pigs we rescued are not wild, ferocious pigs...as has been alleged. They are, for the most part, young and relatively un-socialized little pigs...many an attractive mix of potbellied pigs and feral pigs...who were simply the victims of a larger human tragedy. They were hungry and thirsty. And they were doing no more than what nature demanded to live, survive and raise their young. In our short exposure to these pigs we found them to be gentle, inquisitive animals. In short, we found them to be normal little pigs...pigs who, with a little care and love, will make excellent companions.
Acknowledgments:
The TPPA owes a special thanks and a heartfelt well done to the following individuals:
-Dr.
Marvin Hays, DVM and his family and staff at Button Brand
Veterinary Service.
-Undersheriff Sanchez of the Otero County, NM Sheriff's
Department
-Sue
Parkinson, Lil Orphan Hammies Sanctuary,
-Ironwood
Sanctuary in
-Michelle and Art Corella...for transport of the pigs from
-The founders of The Coalition of Pig Sanctuaries...for ongoing professional guidance and advice
-Numerous
unsung friends at the Hughes Farm and Ranch Supply,
-Those within the pig community who have contributed funds to help defray the costs of
this rescue-Those within our extended family who have already stepped forward to offer a home to many of these pigs and
piglets-Leanne Barkemeyer...for loving these pigs and allowing them to be relocated to a better life