Thread: Pigs, Dolphins and Polar Bears

One of the most impressive events when I first started to live in Bali (I started of in the middle of a village), were the killings of pigs that (usually) were done, then, just 25 meters from my door.

The first time (and I had asked to be woken up, (it happens usually very early in the morning), I was horribly nervous and equipped with camera I went out of my house.

The pigs are kept in little bamboo cages, with no room to move and their legs tied up. The guys in charge of the killing and butchering are assembled, and spectators are all around, including little girls and boys.

When the time has come, the pig is put in position. The pigs squeals are damped a bit, because its mouth is tied up.

I felt like watching a movie clip from an execution, horrified, but still wanting to see. Also now when I write this, I see flashes of Saddams execution, and some clips I saw of beheadings in Afganistan(?).

The guys seemed cool, professional and dedicated. My guess is that one of the more respected members of the assembled group is chosen to kill the pig. The sharpened knife is entered swiflty in the neck of the pig, and then moved a bit around, so the artery is opened and the blood flows out quickly, into a bucket. The blood is kept to make lawar, a famous Balinese dish.

I remember one of the young girls smiling at me and saying "Kasih an Babi, yah", but she wasn't in anyway moved as far as I could see, just interested.

Because of the location of the wound, the pig must loose consciousness pretty quickly, I carefully looked to see the last signs of life, but it were more seconds, then minutes. When the blood has ran out, the hair of the pig is burned off.

Depending on the use of the pig, it is processed further. It can be Babi Guling, or its just chopped up, and the various parts are cooked. (My guess is that western bouchers will find the slaughtering quite primitive)

I now know how a pig smells inside, and recognize the smell now and then, without seeing the pig...

During my picture shooting (can't find them anywhere now) the boys did funny things, like taking the just cut of head and posing with it for me in front of their own head.

I wonder if I ever have the guts to kill a pig like that. The thought asking to do it one day crossed my mind more then once, and its not unlikely my whish would be granted. But then, I also wanted to kill a chicken, which I never did. And the women in the village are so easy with it.... I am a pussy... A western pussy....

Pigs are rated No 4 on the "intelligence ranking" list. No 1 are Humans, No 2 Primates, No 3 Whales and Dolphins, No 4 Pigs.

The Wikipedia about pig / whale / dolphin intelligence:

Most of the research on cetacean intelligence has consisted of behavioral inference tests carried out on dolphins. Bottlenose Dolphins, for example, are able to recognize their own images in a mirror. However, in other research, they scored lower than ferrets in a test of learning set formation. Generally, both dolphin and pig intelligence is rated as higher than that of dogs. On the other hand, it is nearly impossible to duplicate these types of tests for whales.

Regardless, many anti-whaling campaigners claim that cetaceans are still among the most intelligent of all non-humans, and it is therefore morally wrong to kill them for food. However, those in favour of whaling point out that pigs are also amongst the most intelligent of animals with no definitive study indicating that whales are more intelligent than pig. Then it is inconsistent to claim that pigs can be used for food, and whales not, all other considerations notwithstanding. Thus, in the view of pro-whalers, if the slaughter and consumption of another "intelligent" land animal is a non-issue, then similarly, protestations against the slaughter and consumption of whales cannot logically be ground on the basis of intelligence. Moreover, this apparent inconsistency is seen as another indication that anti whaling argument is rooted in cultural prejudice.

We have a small zoo in North Bali, including with pools where you can swim with dolphins. The Balinese don't kill the dolphins.

Although pigs may fly sometimes, they don't swim a lot. Dolphins do swim, and are friendly, just like pigs. Dolphins are nice cute animals and appear in movies or television series, like Flipper, and the pigs are even more present in movies, cartoons. Take Miss Piggy. Just as cute.

Bears are cute as well, and also starred in many films and cartoons.

And now there is Knut, the sweet little white and cuddly polar bear who stole the heart of many. Animal activists want to kill Knut.

Albrecht and other activists fret that it is inappropriate for a predator, known for its fierceness and ability to fend for itself in the wild, to be snuggled, bottle-fed and made into a commodity by zookeepers.

Knut is not as smart as a pig. Knut is stupid compared to a pig.

Free Willy, Kill Knut and a Frog marries a Pig.

I guess kidnapping a Polar Bear Baby and bringing him to Bali will not work to well. Maybe having an adult pregnant polar bear will. A pregnant dolphin in Bali probably only works if its an albino dolphin.

Or maybe the Balinese should start an petition to get Knut to Bali. Bali needs a Knut.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1 ... 98,00.html

I haven't done much research about the pigs in Bali, but I can assure you that their cage is smaller then those of the dolphins, and their lifespan is rather limited.