School rant "kiss the pig"

[Johnny_]

Let me start this off by saying that this forum has taught me many things.  One being that animals are unappreciatede all around the globe.  One being that no matter how many times cases are found of dogs being negelected or killed, they are still appreciative of us.  They never question that we are their masters.  And that is why they are man's best friend, because they are able to still love us though we abuse, and sometimes kill them.  Two, for us humans that eat meat, (sorry vegetarians) we would not be able to survive on the food animals give us, and not necessarily meat.  Also, milk and eggs.

Heres the story.

A few weeks ago posters were hung up all over the school for the homecoming pep rally, and some advertised "kiss the pig...vote for who the lucky teacher will be".  Well today, the pig escaped, and in my engineering class, our teacher had to catch it.  I dont know how he caught it, and rumors were spread as soon as he walked in the door.  But, I did hear the deafening scream of the poor pig as they tried to catch it.  LAter that day during the rally, they brought the pig out, and Mr. Canavan was to kiss it.  Well they brought it out carrying it by the back legs and with a harness around its neck.  Over all of the people shouting and screaming I STILL heard the poor pig's scream.  They placed it on the gym floor, and it couldnt stand up, because of the slick floor.  Well as he went to kiss it kids started pouring out of the bleachers toward them, which only stressed it out even more.  The teachers were laughing as they tried to get the kids to sit back down.  They then carried it back the way they brought it in.  I almost just walked out, but held it in til I got home, and here I am.

What gets me the most about this, is that we still use these animals as amusement for ourselves.  It screams in terror as we all laugh our heads off at the sound it makes.
 

[NutKitty]

Ever tried to pick up a piglet before?  I have more than once, and O M G they squeal...  just because you picked it up.   

[Johnny_]

It squealed ALL day.  Every class I went to I could hear it.   

[NutKitty]

It squealed ALL day.  Every class I went to I could hear it.   

I'm sorry that you had to put up with that, and I'm sorry for the piggy too.  :/

If it helps put a smile on your face, I had a high school teacher who had two pot bellied pigs as pets!  He'd talk about them all the time, and I got to meet them when he held a pool party at his home.  Huge, and they totally had the run of his entire house!   

[arumberg]

I think if they wanted to do this fundraiser, they should have at least looked into borrowing a pet pot belly pig who is used to being around lots of people. (I think it would have been more amusing if the pig actually kissed the teacher back instead of trying to get away). Using a farm pig was just asking for trouble. I think it's apparant that this event was not thought through thoroughly enough, or else the pig would not have escaped. I would write a letter to your school board or whomever else is appropriate and inform them of your dissatisfaction at the way the pig was treated and request that this event never be repeated. What happened was not appropriate and I'm sorry you had to witness it.

[hairless_love]

Is it because of PMS, or did this post make anyone else cry? It seriously teared me up.  It really pisses me off when people pull crap like this, because it's "Just and animal."

[Johnny_]

Is it because of PMS, or did this post make anyone else cry? It seriously teared me up.  It really pisses me off when people pull crap like this, because it's "Just and animal."

Exactly.

[gesticulator]

That's horrible. The poor thing. For some reason, I have a vision of the movie Carrie, where all the kids and teachers laughed at her as they spilled pig's blood all over her. Maybe the teacher needs to be shackled and dragged into a pen of pigs! So sorry you had to endure watching that.

[KoalaLou2]

Someone needs to stand up for the way that pig (and likely future pigs) was treated.      
I think letter writing and a conversation with the principal would get things headed in the right direction.

[..Shea..]

Pigs squeel all the time, especially if they're not socialized.
Now I'm not saying what the school did was right, and I definately don't think that because obviously the poor piggy was stressed. But the pigs at my work would squeel everytime you touched them or tried to touch them when we first got them. Even after we tried to socialize them they would squeel when touched.

The method of grabbing the hind legs to get them to move is common. Especially with bigger piglets that are too heavy to carry.

One of the worst things I've ever seen was when the pig breeder that gave my work the pigs came with his son to pick the pigs back up and take them home for the season. The way the handled the pigs was terrible. It involved two people, one would grab an ear, as close to the head as they could get, and the other would grab the base of the tail...and they would just lift the pig up like that. Meanwhile the pig is screaming bloody murder. It made me want to cry, the sound was horrendous.

[Mousie452]

What a great way to teach a whole school full of impressionable kids to treat animals  Poor pig. It'd take a truely psychotic person not to see something wrong with the whole scene you described, it kinda is like the movie Carrie with the kids and teachers pointing and laughing.

[hairless_love]

Pigs squeel all the time, especially if they're not socialized.
Now I'm not saying what the school did was right, and I definately don't think that because obviously the poor piggy was stressed. But the pigs at my work would squeel everytime you touched them or tried to touch them when we first got them. Even after we tried to socialize them they would squeel when touched.

Ya...but obviously it wasn't a good idea to bring this pig into a school of kids. Like arumberg said, if they wanted to take this approach, they should have tried to find someones pet pot belly pig who wouldn't be so freaked out.

[pinkie1205]

i wonder what happened to the pig afterwards 

[M00NL1GHTandR0S3S]

I don't know. I guess growing up on a farm (and still technically living on one) has trained me to think differently. I see nothing wrong with moving a pig around using its back legs. In fact that is how we move our own pigs. It doesn't hurt them really, and honestly there is no other easier (or more humane IMO way to do it). It is better than the alternative which is to use an electric prod to herd the poor animal. Like many have said, if the pig isn't used to be handled it is going to squeal no matter what. Heck, our potbelly that lives IN our house squeals if we try to pick her up. It doesn't mean it was in pain, and it doesn't really mean it was overly stressed.

I am sure I will get flamed for this, but I honestly think ya'll are over reacting to something that is not a big deal. If you seen some of the things done to livestock that most people don't know about you would know that this pig was honestly...lucky that this is the worst it was put through. For now anyway.

[Leonakitty]

I *do* know what is done to livestock and also think it's terrible that we can routinuely treat animals so badly that being terrified and roughly handled should be equated to "decent" treatment in comparison. And that such an animal should be considered lucky.

Compared to the sort of horrible torture I've read about (and seen) yes, this pig was definitely luckier than some.
Doesn't make it right to scare and upset an animal needlessly... for fun and amusement.

I, for one, am glad there are people who get upset over things like this. The more folks are concerned with animal well-being and humane treatment, the better.  That someone who scared a dog like this would get outrage from most folks while the same thing being done to a pig is seen as no big deal is a problem in my mind.  Especially since dogs and pigs are equal in intelligence and a pig feels just as much as a dog does... they are both sentient beings.

Animals aren't our playtoys and shouldn't be treated as such. 

I do hope you write a respectful letter, OP.
The school should be informed of how disrespectful and inhumane this event was.

[rats_have_rights]

,...If you seen some of the things done to livestock that most people don't know about you would know that this pig was honestly...lucky that this is the worst it was put through. For now anyway.

...Speaking of 'luck'

"...If you had the luck of the Pigs
You'd be sorry and wish you were dead
You should have the luck of the Pigs
And you'd wish you was Human instead!

(With all apologies to John Lennon )

[Mousie452]

I bet a lot of these kids that saw this are not farm kids and didn't know how pigs are normally treated. They were laughing because they thought the pig was terrified and they probably thought it was funny because the pig had to be dragged by his legs and of course a teacher had to kiss this "disgusting" creature. Regardless of whether the pig was treated "properly" the bigger issue is that these kids saw an act that is perceived as cruel, and they learned to laugh at it.