The piglets are a joy to have most of the time, they're happy, funny and so friendly, but that doesn't mean they won't end up on a plate! Raising any animal for meat is a job on it's own. There's time, energy, patience and also the monetary factor to consider. Animal feed is not cheap and by the time you work out how many hours has gone into caring for the animal realistically you can buy meat from a supermarket for the same price. It's the knowledge of knowing the animal has had the best life possible, been fed properly, cared for and loved and also met it's end without being overly stressed, man handled or treated badly.
Our pigs all seem to enjoy their lives, they love a good itch and will follow you around like dogs. Mind you it's not all plain sailing as they can be extremely vocal at feeding times and do occasionally push us mere humans out of the way if we're not quick enough putting feed bowls down. They also can be quite destructive but that's because they're so nosy! We used to take our first pig, Mikey, for walks on a lead - that gave the locals something to gossip about ;)
For me, raising pigs has been challenging at times but very worthwhile. We do eat pork and by far the best we've ever eaten has come from our own pigs. Last year we tried gammon and bacon too with great success. But mostly I like keeping them as they're intelligent, clean and are great with people. I think they're cute too - I mean how could anyone not love a face like this....
I appreciate your honest view on pig-raising for meat... a lot of people advocate for animal rights and vegetarianism being the only true good way to live, but I just can't bring myself to empathize that much with animals.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm going to eat meat - and I do like meat, then I think it's important to know where it comes from and how it SHOULD be raised. I'm becoming more aware of things as I get older and hope my kids are learning from the experience. Animal rights are fine in the proper place.
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