Taiwan's largest pig contest draws fire for animal cruelty

Jan 28, 2012, 11:44 GMT

New Taipei, Taiwan - An annual contest to see which farmer can raise the largest pig ended in Taiwan Saturday with nine ornamented pig carcasses displayed for public worshiping at a temple in the Taipei suburb of Sanxia.

According to organizers of the Pigs of God Festival, the winning pig weighed in at 1,061 kilograms before it was slaughtered as a sacrifice to Qingshui Master, a local deity.

Local animal rights activists have long charged that the ritual encourages cruel treatment of the pigs.

In August, the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan released a video of handlers force-feeding one of the contest pigs by placing a tube that pumped a slurry of food directly into the pig's mouth. The video showed contender pigs that were too heavy to stand, spending their days permanently collapsed on their sides.

A week ago, the society's director, Chen Yu-min, said this temple is the only one in Taiwan that still holds the contest, and called on worshippers to go somewhere else to pray.

'We are absolutely against this,' she said. 'When pigs are too large to even stand up, even urinating becomes problematic. The pigs need handlers to massage their sides just so urine can come out.'

However, the graphic campaign did not deter the crowds. Streets leading up to the Qingshui Master Temple in Sanxia Saturday were choked with people. The temple estimated that 100,000 people attended the event.

Some came to see the pigs' skins, which were spread and ornamented with fruits, bright paint, and trinkets. Others pulled strands of hair from the pigs, hoping the souvenir will bring them luck in the Lunar New Year.

The tradition began over 200 years ago, according to Li Kai-jui, a spokesman for the temple. Taiwanese villagers once slaughtered pigs as an offering to the Qingshui Master deity before splitting up the meat with their neighbours. The larger the pig, the greater the luck it brought the owner.

But as Taiwan industrialized, villagers were replaced by wealthy businessmen, who now sponsor pig farmers to raise the largest swine and win recognition and blessings from the temple.

'This is a publicly demanded event,' Lee said. 'The turnout shows that you can't separate the people from their tradition.'

Shen Wen-he, 51, said he has come to pray in front of the pigs more than 10 times because the Qingshui Master has been worshiped in his family for generations. But he admitted that force feeding the pigs was cruel.

'You can't get rid of this tradition, but you can make some changes,' he said. 'Maybe the temple should stop the contest for the largest pig. Sacrificing normal-sized pigs would be fine.'