In Defense of Pigs: With Lipstick or Not

When Barack Obama made his infamous comment about how you can put lipstick on a pig and it's still a pig, the first thought that came to my mind is: what's wrong with being a pig. Not only are they adorably cute in their infancy, they have a wonderful temperament and are amongst the smartest animals on God's Green Earth. Pigs need no lipstick as they are perfect as they are.

Pigs, especially the Asian pot bellied variety, are clean pets who will stay clean if bathed and groomed. In fact they are one of the cleanest animals around when you consider the fact that they refuse to excrete anywhere near their living or eating quarters if given a choice. Pigs only wallow in mud in nature because they do not sweat, and need it to stay cool.

Domestic Pigs can be found across Europe, the Middle East and all the way into Asia - as far away as Indonesia and Japan. In Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and other older Christian groups, pigs are associated with Saint Anthony the Great, the patron saint of swineherds

They are also very social and playful, and are a little smarter than a three year old child. Only humans, primates and dolphins are smarter. Using their snouts, pigs can learn to maneuver a modified joystick to move a cursor on a video monitor. This was shown on video during a research study performed at Penn State from 1996 to 1998 by Stanley Curtis, then professor of dairy and animal science.

Pigs are too individualistic and too smart to be herded, like most farm animals. They are also capable of figuring out how to open gates and once they learn they will escape from their pens repeatedly, according to Ken Kephart, a Penn State professor of animal science. There was a famous incident in Great Britain when an entire truckload of hogs grown for slaughter escaped from a truck and bounded off into the wilderness. They were later recaptured, given a reprieve, and allowed to live in a sanctuary free from any threat of being butchered.

In certain European countries, where truffles are sold for top dollar, harvesters rely on pigs as valuable hunters who use their keen sense of smell and versatile nose to sniff out, and dig up the prized fungi. From the time they are piglets, truffle merchants pick out the pig that most aggressively seeks out a truffle and designates it for lifetime duty as a pampered, and highly respected "truffle pig".

To scientists, pigs are the most valuable animal in the world when it comes to saving lives with organ transplants, as a pig's organs are more similar to human organs than any other animal. More and more, they are being raised for the specific purpose of serving as organ donors.

Whether you like the image of pigs or not, you cannot devalue their role in nature, their intelligence, and their role as one of mankind's most important animals.

Sources-
PBS.org The Joy of Pigs
A field guide to pigs by John Pukite