It is a great tragedy that pigs – like many other animals raised to satisfy human tastes and desires – are treated as little more than insentient commodities by the meat industry. Whenever pigs have been allowed to live in peace, they are renowned for their empathy, cleanliness, outstanding intellectual prowess, and ability to form close friendships with other animals and humans.



Sadly, pigs are rarely given the chance to express just what wonderful, complex beings they truly are. Opponents of the cruel factory farming system sometimes recommend “humanely” farmed meat, produced on small farms, as a kinder alternative. However, the tragic story of a family of pigs rescued from a small backyard slaughterhouse in NY last month demonstrates that these small farms are, all too often, not nearly as “humane” as they purport to be.


The rescue effort was carried out by a team of volunteers from Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, Farm Sanctuary, Catskill Animal Sanctuary, the Hudson Valley SPCA, and Skylands Animal Sanctuary & Rescue. The team was horrified by the gruesome sight that met their eyes in the nightmarish yard, where rotting corpses littered the ground and “the living were made to live among the dead.” Two hundred animals were saved. Woodstock Farm Sanctuary took in nine goats, five sheep, and one mother pig nursing her five baby piglets.

Luckily, the mama pig and her five babies are now doing very well in their new home! Woodstock recently posted a series of pictures to their Facebook page, showing just how well the babies have been doing since their arrival.

This photo, taken just one week after the family was rescued, shows just what a difference a bit of TLC made in their lives.

The orange and black baby is named Michael, the pink and black one is called Mr. Drinky, and the three pink piglets are Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ginger. Their mother has simply been named “Momma” – Woodstock have admitted that they “weren’t super creative with that one!”


Visitors are enthralled by them.

Have you ever seen a cuter line-up?


The piglets love fooling around…

… rooting for tasty tidbits…

… and spending some quality time with Momma!

Their carers find it hard to believe that these sweet animals were once “living in filth and fear and doomed to be killed by a backyard butcher.”

However, they now get to live out the rest of their days in peace.


Seeing how these piggies are living now, it is hard to believe that any other life would have been possible for them. These creatures are incredibly intelligent and emotional beings that deserve the chance to enjoy their days without the threat of abuse or fear of pain. Let’s hope that these sweet piggies have many years of joy ahead of them!

All image source: Woodstock Farm Sanctuary/Facebook