Current Press Releases

Indiana Pigs Escape Slaughter…Twice

After Escaping Transport Trucks, "Truffles" and "Rudy" Find a Safe Haven at Farm Sanctuary in New York

DANVILLE, IN and WATKINS GLEN, NY - September 6, 2005 - Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal shelter and advocacy organization, opened their shelter to two piglets from Indiana, Truffles and Rudy - one escaping the slaughterhouse twice in his short life. Harold Brown, Farm Sanctuary's Outreach Coordinator, made the trek to transport the pigs comfortably to their new Farm Sanctuary home in Watkins Glen, New York on Monday, September 5, 2005.

Truffles fell off a transport truck loaded with other piglets. She was rescued and given safe harbor by two girls following the truck on their way to a concert. Rudy, a 30-pound piglet, was found at a truck stop along I-74 in Pittsboro, Indiana, where he was found wandering the parking lot. Another truck driver found the piglet and took him to the Hendricks County Animal Control in Danville, Indiana.

A pending adoption from the animal control facility put Rudy's future at stake a second time by a local farmer who planned to raise him for food. Farm Sanctuary immediately contacted the animal control officer after learning of the piglet's situation by members who were concerned about the piglet's future. The officer initially told Farm Sanctuary that the adoptions are set on a first come, first served basis and that the farmer had first claim to the piglet. After failing to meet the adoption agreement deadline with animal control, the farmer forfeited his rights to Rudy and Farm Sanctuary was contacted. Rudy then joined Truffles, who had already been placed in a temporary foster shelter by Indiana resident, Diane Evans. The animal control officer disclosed to Ms. Evans that the piglet's plunge from a transport truck was the fourth such occurrence this year.

Meghan Beeby of Farm Sanctuary, who helped orchestrate the pigs' rescue, stated, "I am grateful that Rudy and Truffles will be able to show Farm Sanctuary visitors that pigs are social animals with individual personalities, not unlike humans. Since they would have most likely ended up as someone's holiday ham, we will make sure to give them a special treat this holiday season to celebrate their new life of freedom."

Most pigs are born to mothers inside metal farrowing crates, shipped off to fattening pens inside warehouses and then, at six months of age, are crammed again onto trucks destined for the slaughterhouse. Pigs are regularly loaded on livestock trucks without any regard to numbers, safety and general welfare - often forced to endure long-distance travels and subjected to the extremes of weather conditions without adequate ventilation. It is not unusual to see downed or fatigued animals being dragged from the confines of a livestock transport truck.

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.