With the Year of the Pig starting on Tuesday, pig lovers fear that a rush of people wanting to usher good fortune into their homes by getting a piglet as a pet could lead to a wave of abandoned animals.
Anita Chen, who runs a social media forum for owners of pet pig and has two pigs at her home in Taipei, said that the first thing owners have to consider is their freedom and flexibility.
Pigs like her Xin Xin and Mei Mei have the intelligence of a five-year-old child and can open everything from fridges to doors and drawers, often removing everything inside, to the horror of their homecoming owners, Chen said.
Photo: Reuters / Tyrone Siu
“Piglets are very attached to people, they will constantly squeak to make you play with them or feed them,” she said, adding that many overwhelmed owners abandon piglets after just a few months.
Visitors at a petting farm in Taoyuan get a kick out feeding milk to piglets in a pen, and many want to take one home.
“We don’t advise this, as they are farm animals,” farm owner Yang San-guei said.
Bama pigs, the species most commonly kept as pets in Taiwan, might be small and cute when they are young, but can grow to a hulking 60kg, Yang said.
However, if visitors will not be warned off, Yang said he is willing to sell piglets for NT$3,000.
The other little pigs go to market when they outgrow their pen.
Veterinarian Chang Chien-ming said that anyone thinking of getting a pig should their research them thoroughly to avoid nasty surprises “so that they know how big these pigs can grow, find a veterinarian, and educate themselves about medical and nutritional aspects,” Chang said.
He said he had also seen renewed enthusiasm for pigs as pets over the past year.
Veterinary clinics willing to treat pigs are difficult to find, with only one-in-100 accepting pig patients, Chang said.
Many owners quickly realize that having a porcine pet can seriously crimp their holiday plans. Pet hotels do not accept pigs.
Abandoned pigs in Taiwan have a harder time finding a new home than cats and dogs.
Publicly funded shelters do not accept pigs, as they are not classified as pets, leaving it to pet lovers or private shelters to take them in.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS