Returning Home to Raise Porcupines: A Post-80s College Graduate and His Fellow Villagers Head Toward Prosperity Together
Black and white banded, covered all over in sharp quills, like a "giant hedgehog" - at the slightest sound, every quill on its body stands straight up... this is the porcupine, wild yet endearing. Yesterday, a reporter at the porcupine farm in Yangqing Village, Yangqing Town, Suixi County saw the spacious farm divided into small "suites," each housing 3 porcupines; step a little closer and you hear a chorus of "shasha" and "kacha" sounds.
The owner of the farm is named Song Jingbiao, born in 1987, a native of Yangqing Village, Yangqing Town, Suixi County, who chose to return home to start a business after graduating from university. He told the reporter that the "shasha" sound is the porcupines eating, while the "kacha" sound is made by their tails swaying.
"Ugly as the porcupine may look, every part of it is a treasure - its meat, brain, fat oil, heart, liver, gallbladder, stomach and quills can all be used in medicine, with effects such as lowering blood pressure and relieving pain, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and dispelling wind and clearing the meridians; it enjoys the reputation of 'animal ginseng.'" Song Jingbiao explained that he used to work away from home, and when he saw how profitable other people's porcupine farming was, he immediately went to learn the breeding techniques, and afterward returned to his hometown and invested more than 100,000 yuan to build a farm and start raising them. This is his 2nd year raising porcupines, from more than 30 at the start to more than 60 now, gradually figuring out and mastering the methods of porcupine farming. "Porcupines don't have many problems, they're just a bit afraid of the heat in summer." Song Jingbiao said that to let them get through the intense heat coolly, he often puts several fans in the pens to cool them down.
After talking about the porcupines' habits, he moved on to his "business sense." "The cost of raising porcupines isn't high, they can generally be sold after 10 months, each weighing around 26 jin, with a raising cost of about 350 yuan, while the market price of porcupines is 60 yuan per jin, so the net income per animal reaches more than 1,000 yuan." Song Jingbiao said porcupine farming has low feeding costs, needs little labor, and brings rather high economic returns.
Although still in the exploratory stage, Song Jingbiao is very optimistic about the prospects of raising porcupines; with the first batch sold, he earned more than 30,000 yuan. At present, he plans to set up a cooperative in the village, provide techniques to villagers free of charge, supply breeding stock at low prices, and buy back the finished porcupines, paving a road to prosperity for everyone.
(Cao Longbin)