Hogs, heroism, hypocrisy, & high water

[Guest guest]

Further to the Sharon Begley article Kim posted about the

mental processes behind hypocrisy, and Kim's observations about the

problematic aspects of doing disaster relief that " saves " animals

only to be transported & slaughtered--

 

Iowa pig farmer Ron Lanz, 36, responded to flood warnings

by sending 1,000 pigs to slaughter, and sending 1,800 pigs to a

feedlot to be fattened in preparation for slaughter.

 

By then the water was so high and had begun rising so fast

that Lanz fled for his life, leaving 800 pigs marooned in a shed

where they would probably drown.

 

Lanz felt so bad about leaving the pigs to drown that the

next day he rowed a boat to the shed and found all the pigs still

alive. He forced the door open so that they could escape.

 

24 hours later, he found 30 pigs still alive on a patch of

high ground, and resolved to rebuild his herd and continue pig

farming.

 

Most likely many & perhaps all of the rest of the pigs are

now scattered throughout the countryside, augmenting the already

large U.S. feral pig population.

 

Your moral philosophy question for the day: is Lanz a good

guy, a bad guy, a bit of both, a bit mixed up, or just plain

crazy?

 

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

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