Holly, Heather, Thomas and Howard - the pigs

Holly, Heather, Thomas and Howard arrived at The Sanctuary together in July 2012. These large white pigs, originally destined for human consumption, were bred to grow quickly. Too quickly. Each pig arrived with the tell-tale signs of factory farming: chunks missing from their ears (part of the identification process) and their tails missing (farmers cut off the piglet's tails to prevent them biting them off later on - due to the stressful environment in which they grow up). Holly, the queen of belly rubs, would delight visitors, young and old, with her cuddles and love of a good massage. One day Holly didn't get up. The weight of her body had led to her rear legs being paralysed. Sadly, paralysis is a common affliction borne by factory farm pigs. Their genetic manipulation and selective breeding makes them prone to chronic arthritis, spinal abscesses and collapsed disks that can make it very difficult for them to carry their unnaturally huge bodies around. Holly passed away at the end of 2013. We still miss her - and her cuddles - to this day.

Luckily we still have Heather, Thomas and Howard with us and each of them delights us with their antics. In fact, you can read more about what they get up to here.