Competition "sacred pigs" force-fed and imprisoned to gain over a thousand jin, animal protection groups accuse of torture, Hakka Affairs Council: Please respect sacrificial culture

The 180-year-old "Baozhong Pavilion Yimin Festival" in Hsinchu County will be held next week. The Yimin Festival links fifteen major villages across the northern Hakka region, from Xinwu and Yangmei in the north to Beipu and Emei in the south. In 2015 it was designated a nationally important folk custom, and it is the only nationally certified "intangible cultural asset" belonging to a Hakka village tradition, making it highly emblematic with great cultural heritage value.

However, in recent years animal protection groups have criticized the "sacred pig weight competition" held during the Yimin Festival, arguing that the "sacred pig weight competition" distorts the true meaning of the Yimin Festival. In pursuit of weight to win prizes, competition pigs are force-fed and imprisoned so they cannot walk, causing enormous suffering to the pigs. They call for the abolition of this inhumane competition.

The sacred pig weight competition has sparked controversy from all sides. The Hakka Affairs Council issued a statement saying, "The Yimin Festival is the main belief of the Hakka people, and the sacred pig competition is part of the sacrificial culture. We ask all sectors to show respect." But the Ministry of Culture, which is responsible for cultural asset management, explained: "The Ministry of Culture's registration of the 'Baozhong Pavilion Yimin Festival' as an important folk custom does not include the 'sacred pig weight competition.'"

Wang Zhongshu, deputy director of the Council of Agriculture's Department of Animal Industry, said that under the spirit of the Animal Protection Act, acts such as forced feeding and pressing iron frames onto the body already constitute violations of the law. He suggested canceling the weight-gain competition and raising animals according to animal welfare standards, to avoid blurring the focus of the festival and losing the true meaning of the Yimin Festival.

Competition sacred pigs gain over a thousand jin, long-term imprisonment causes torture

The Taiwan Animal Research Association (hereinafter "Dongshe") pointed out that the raising process for competition sacred pigs is longer than for ordinary pigs, reaching two to three years, and their weight often reaches over a thousand jin, five to six times that of an ordinary adult pig. Because the body weight is too heavy to avoid the pig standing, iron or wooden frames are pressed onto the pig's body. The long-term imprisoned state makes the so-called "sacred pigs" endure long-term torture, and the public and lengthy slaughter process also causes enormous suffering to the pigs.

Regarding the raising and husbandry model of competition sacred pigs, Dongshe commissioned Donald Broom, a professor of animal welfare at Cambridge University, to study the mental and physical trauma that the raising and husbandry model of competition sacred pigs causes to the animals. Donald Broom said that pigs are vertebrates, and their cardiovascular and nervous system pain perception is very similar to that of humans. The raising method for sacred pigs weighing over a thousand jin will cause the pigs to be unable to roll over or move on their own, making them prone to fright and bruising injuries, as well as long-term pressure pain.

Veterinarian: Overweight makes them unable to stand, causing pressure on the body

Imprisoned sacred pigs cannot drink water on their own and are prone to dehydration or overheating. Lying down for long periods to urinate and defecate can also cause urinary dysfunction. Moreover, the slaughter process for sacred pigs takes place while they are conscious, forced to feel the pain of a sharp blade piercing their throat. From bleeding to death, the entire process is conscious, and the lengthy suffering may last as long as several tens of minutes.

An anonymous Taiwanese veterinarian said that pigs are force-fed, on the one hand to force them to absorb nutrients, and on the other hand because once their weight reaches a certain level, they can no longer stand to feed themselves, so they can only be force-fed. And to prevent their bones from being unable to support the weight, iron pillars must be added. This is all a burden on the pigs' health, because beyond the normal weight stage, the pigs are not growing muscle or bone but accumulating body fat, so the pigs' cardiovascular disease will be very serious. Due to long-term pressure, the urinary system is also prone to dysfunction.