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Animal rights group wants end to divine pig contestCNA February 21, 2013, 12:04 am TWN    Chen Yu-min, director of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan, repeated the call during a ceremony at the Sanxia Zushi Temple in New Taipei over the Lunar New Year holiday to award the person with the heaviest pig. In an effort to produce the heaviest possible pigs, farmers often force-feed the animals, making them too heavy to move, Chen said, pointing out that this is animal abuse. The Sanxia Zushi temple is one of the few in Taiwan where worshippers still celebrate the birthday of the local deity known as Chingshui Master with a divine pig competition, Chen said, describing it as encouraging brutality. When the worship ceremony was held at the temple Feb. 15, members of the society were on hand to call for an end to the contest and displayed a divine pig made of candies and flowers, she added. The history of the ritual dates back to the 1895-1945 Japanese colonial rule era, when farmers were encouraged to raise heavy pigs as part of efforts to improve pig-breeding techniques, Chen said. Those with the heaviest pigs would be awarded in worship ceremonies, she added. Gradually over the years, the contest became associated with religious ceremonies at temples, which led to a trend in which pig raisers resort to inhumane methods to produce super-heavy pigs, she said.
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This campaign is, understandably, a daunting task in a country where populism prevails. Passionate and laudable they may be, the strategies employed by the Animal Society are not practically effective; few participants at the religious rites would pay much attention to the campaign efforts. Similar contests will be expected to occur year after year. Given the prevalent populist atmosphere, no bureaucrats dare to stop sponsoring the contest next year; nor can local council representatives afford to prevent or dissuade locals from conducting such ceremonies again.
To achieve everlasting effects, all the campaign enthusiasts are suggested to change their strategies currently used, by starting from the very beginning level of education. In this situation, scholars from academic fields can play significant roles. Zoologists or husbandry experts can, for instance, provide scientific evidence, showing that force-feedings as currently used by the farmers definitely cause injuries to swine growth and ultimately ruin the swine’s health. On these bases, education scholars can help revise school curricula, integrating the importance of habitats protection and the awareness of animal abuse. Young children will learn, from pre-schooling through secondary school, to acquire healthy attitudes towards all habitats on earth. The above suggestion may take quite a few years or even a whole generation, but it will, hopefully, be perpetually effective. Fighting against animal abuse may practically be achieved in a relatively long term period. Be patient but persistent!
Lau Hieng-Hiong, Hsinchu