Imagine being a little piglet— frolicking around an open pasture, rolling around in some nice, cool mud— just to wake up one day in a brownstone in a Los Angeles content house, completely unaware of what immense danger you’re in. This is the story for many pigs in the United States. All thanks to the likes of Ariana Grande and Logan Paul, micro pigs are the hot button pet choice and the golden ticket to ultimate clout. Influencers are buying these so-called “micro pigs” solely for content, and then abandoning them once they become too much of a hassle to maintain. Oddly enough, I don’t think these internet celebrities are the only ones to blame for this. The exclusive world of teacup pigs may be a bit more twisted than what we see on our Instagram feeds.
These novelty pets are nothing novel at all. America’s fixation with micro, or teacup, pigs began with Paris Hilton showing off her micro pig, Miss Piglette, in 2009. After that, the trend of owning micro pigs has consistently fizzled out and come back again every two or so years. People with disposable income see these little pigs being dressed up in costumes and sleeping in baby cribs, then rush out to breeders so they can own a cool pet just like their favorite influencer. Now, is it slightly unethical and extremely human-centric of these people to purchase intelligent, innocent animals solely for attention and money? Yes, it is. But, the fault is not completely on the buyer. It’s way deeper.
I was so ready to sit on my high horse and rage on for six hundred words, more or less, about how horrible influencers are, and scream into the echo chamber of blame and hate they receive on a constant basis (though, most of the criticism they receive is valid and important). But, my Google search for all the ways influencers suck with animals, quickly turned into a rabbit hole of all the ways the breeding industry for these so-called teacup pigs is full of misinformation and deception.
I was shocked to find out that micro pigs aren’t even a real thing. You read that right, they don’t even exist. These pig breeders are selling baby piglets as full grown, or almost fully developed, adult pigs. And are telling buyers that the biggest they’ll get is ten to twenty pounds. Even worse, they are intentionally inbreeding the pigs so they can show more recessive traits, ultimately stunting their growth.
Furthermore, these same breeders have been exposed for underfeeding the animals on top of the other genetic defects they are purposefully passing down. They are laughing all the way to the bank with money they deceived the customer into giving them, by making the buyers believe that this will be a low risk, relatively easy pet to bring into their home. Only for the pet owner to feel completely bamboozled when these animals grow to be anywhere between three hundred and seven hundred pounds. The pet owners’ hands are now forced to donate the pigs to already overcrowded shelters, a pig sanctuary or, just abandon the animal on the streets. And while two out of three of those options sound not-so-bad, oftentimes these animals are so malnourished, or there’s just such a lack of space, that they end up being euthanized anyway.
Look, I love a good side of crispy bacon or ham sandwich as much as the next guy, but you can’t help but to empathize with the pigs. These are extremely intelligent beings that feel a full range of emotions like happiness, excitement, fear, anxiety and sadness just like us. A pig’s intelligence is comparable to that of a three-year-old human child. They are smarter than dogs, are able to solve problems quicker than many other primates and are able to recall memories like an elephant. These are spectacular living creatures that could truly be fulfilling pets that are being discarded and abused purely for cash.
And I can babble on and on about how harmful it is but what does it matter if there’s no solution, right? So, what could be done to prevent this? Personally, I think the government should make owning these animals as pets or breeding them to be pets illegal. That would discourage influencers and celebrities from using them as content since, I highly doubt they’d want to put millions of eyes on their illegal pet. That way, people aren’t being influenced to buy them and all the wind would be knocked out of the micro pig industry. And to put matters into our own hands, we could use social media platforms as a way to inform celebs and influencers and also their followers that may blindly boost the engagement for these cash grab pet posts. Is this thinking a bit too idyllic? Possibly, but, I think it would be a step in the right direction in stopping these pigs from being born into a cycle of misgivings and premature death. And they’d be able to live a fulfilling life frolicking in a pasture and rolling in the mud.
