Shoot a pig, save a town

In Iowa, pigs are being swept downstream after a confinement operation flooded. The little pink darlings have been making their way to shore near a levee, where they climb upon the sandbags ... and promptly get shot by local deputies. The pigs' hooves tear up the sandbags and endanger the levees, so some lawmen are on pig-assassination duty, the Register reports.

“We don’t like having to do this, but we don’t have any choice,” said Sheriff Mike Johnstone.

A pig who somehow floated or swam several miles from the flooded hog barns near Oakville, Iowa, attempts to crawl over the levee from the Mississippi River side of a sandbagged levee near Kingston, Iowa, Tuesday, June 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Comments

[riskybzns]

i can already visualize it now. a lawsuit from the farmers with the backing from an animal rights group

[T-Bone]

Just trying to round up more ribs for this weekends festivities down at Kemper Arena...

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Think of all the senseless killing! What about my Bacon!!!! If there's a bacon shortage, I will be one angry man!

[Black Panther]

Off the pigs!

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Black Panther, these are the wrong pigs you are thinking of.... Think bacon... ham... pork chops.... Not the ones that beat you with clubs, taze you, and then shoot you in your neighborhoods while sipping juice.

[scooter]

Here Piggy Piggy Piggy.

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

I just really want bacon right now.... Anyone have any extra bacon?

[Truth Teller]

If it were you or me shooting the pigs - would we be charged with animal cruelty?

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

TT.... I've shot many a pig before in my life. Usually at point blank range with a 12 gauge. I'd figure the numbers are probably over 100 for me.

And I've never been charged with anything and it was the "humane" way to deal with the situation.

[six pack]

Regrettably the pigs had it coming. They had crapped all over that roof.

[blarneology]

shooting a pig with a 12gauge?

[STA]

Anyone see the irony in cops shooting pigs?

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Yea, i've done that many a times Blarney. My other option was to use a .22 rifle, and they aren't near as effective. And of course my dad wouldn't let me use his old assault rifle.

[Truth Teller]

I've killed many an animal in my time as well. It's called hunting and not animal cruelty. Or it's called protecting livestock.

[td]

Good one STA

[disgusted]

What kind of a horrible human-centric world has this become. These animals fought for their lives only to become the victim of a dumb-ass man with a gun who was unable to tap into the abundant resources available to help these animals - and keep the levees safe. Imagine doing both..helping humans and animals all at the same time. Open your mind, check on your pulse, it leads to your heart, see what is there.

[blarneology]

R2, wow. That just suprised me. I would think it would make a hell of a mess. A .22 i think would have a hard time getting through the skull. Hell I have only killed animals I have eaten besides a couple of stray dogs and a wounded cougar once.

[riskybzns]

disgusted, i agree with you, partialy...have you ever tried man handing a pig in a boat? last time i checked it isn't nearly as easy as rescueing cats, dogs, birds....i think you can get the picture, anf if not let me know.

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Oh, it made a hell of a mess Blarney, but when you have a sick pig you have to get rid of them before they infect other pigs and you lose all of them. Of course, the worst part was burning some of them, or putting them in the bucket on a tractor or skid loader and dumping them along a fence line. And when you happened to go back near that area, it stunk something fierce.

And really, a .22 could get the job done, but you have to aim just right, use hollow points, and would generally take a few shots to get them down. I hated to see them suffer so I used the 12 gauge instead.

And disgusted, most levee's are designed to handle up to a 100 year flood. However many, especially in rural areas, need repairs and are weaker then those near a major metro area. And in this case the flood is being categorized as a 500 year flood, which very few places prepare for because they are so uncommon.

Look for the fish kill in the Gulf to be rather large this year.

[Nivek9]

The article says the pig's hooves were tearing holes int he sandbags. It seems a shame to have to shoot them but if it's the pig or water flooding a town it's "so long pig". I just hope they're able to then pick them up and get them to a processing plant and save the meat. Seems a shame to waste it. That's probably not very practical either though.

[Otis]

Fratricide!

[MH]

Nivek9 - HILARIOUS

[MH]

Nivek9 - HILARIOUS

[Julie]

Holy Moses. Disgusted, yes, it's a human-centric world. Deal with it. If I had to choose between killing a few "traumatized" pigs or flooding ANOTHER field, thus depriving the human population of another thousand pounds of food, sorry, the pig's a goner. The people in that area are more concerned with saving their homes, their children, and their livlihood than they are a couple of freaking animals. Let them put their "abundant resources" towards saving more important things.

I have to somewhat agree with the "What kind of a horrible human-centric world has this become." comment. I think that in many ways, humanity should be ashamed of ittself, especially the people making comments that are poking fun at death, and diminishing the value of and respect for life - even a pig's.
Notice there's always some type of rationalization that these people must use to excuse themselves in their own mind.
Perhaps that should be a red flag that something is wrong.

[east side mike]

I thought pigs could'nt swim. They have short fromt leggs with sharp hooves which would cut his throat if they try to swim.

[blackernmost]

I bet da blackie pigs dey shootn just git left to drift down stream.....

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

East Side Mike, pigs can swim, although rather poorly.

And in my case of shooting the pigs was to keep the rest from developing a serious disease that would spread like wild fire amongst the pigs and contaminate more. If you didn't know, pigs will eat anything, even dead/sick/weak pigs.

[devlin caldwell]

im not making a cop joke here, im just saying, if officer hank doesnt come back with the donuts and coffee, you know where to look...

[James Hart]

And dead people, if given the opportunity.

[Truth Teller]

Nah - da blackie pigs dey shootin isn't left to jist drift downstream. Dey's desecreated foist.

[blarneology]

"I have to somewhat agree with the "What kind of a horrible human-centric world has this become." comment. I think that in many ways, humanity should be ashamed of ittself, especially the people making comments that are poking fun at death, and diminishing the value of and respect for life - even a pig's.
Notice there's always some type of rationalization that these people must use to excuse themselves in their own mind.
Perhaps that should be a red flag that something is wrong."

I like it when anything dies.

[T]

Aww c'mon give them pigs a break. There's lots of hungry people in Iraq that could use a juicy pork chop.

[1]

I am so saddened by the devastation the weather is causing. Of course humans well being is the priority. It confounds me as to how people who can read (I assume this to be true)can write such stupid (I could use a fancier word but stupid fits) things here. Its a tragedy all around...its not funny. Maybe the floods will destroy something belonging to all the wanna be comics. That might be mildly amusing.

[Larry]

The cops are just saying the "pigs hooves are tearing up the sandbags". What a stretch!! These cops will say anything so they can pull a trigger and watch brains splatter!!! This would supply hours of laughs and hard ons for cops!!!!

[IowaGirl]

How dare you! I cannot believe the utterly ridiculous, juvenile, disgusting comments you people are making concerning this very catastrophic event. Hundreds of people in my home town have watched as their houses are swept away and their farm land and livestock are under 10 - 15 feet of water. They had to make life saving decisions on whether or not to save themselves, their children or their livestock. The law enforcement is simply assuring that others do not have to live through the same horrific events by ensuring that the levees stay in tact and you people are worried about where you're getting your bacon. You make me sick! May God have mercy on Iowa and those down river from us....

[bert]

For those who are making fun of this situation, you need to really do some soul searching! As for the cops shooting the pigs, there is another way, & yes I know how hard it would be to man-handle a frightened pig onto a boat I grew up on a farm w/livestock. These pigs could have been shot with a tranquilizer dart, then loaded onto a boat & taken to safety.

[blarneology]

Iowagirl, bacon is important stuff.

[Shifty]

Hmmm.. Efficient ways to use manpower 101:

Option 1 - Utilize personnel where needed to fill sandbags, help people evacuate, secure the affected area to avoid people being injured and their property being looted.

Option 2 - Utilize personnel to chase, tranquilize, drag pigs out of water when needed (because once the drug takes effect you need to keep their snout above water) and wrestle into boat, one at a time. Then the few pigs who are successfully saved will need vehicle and fuel resources to truck them from the area.

Hmmm.... which option is better?

[T]

For all the posters discussing about the tradgedy of the midwest flooding, I'm sorry that some have lost everything, but I also have limited sympathy:

1. Look around your house. If there is high ground all around you, and there's a river, lake, stream, etc. nearby.....ummm...you might have a water problem.
2. Buy flood insurance. Yeah, it's expensive, but the reason it is expensive is that the odds aren't good that you'll have a dry living room for the next 50 years.
3. I have the same thoughts for people who build houses on the cliffs of California (ummm...there's an ocean right there...an earthquake fault line behind me....surely nothing bad will happen) or in the river deltas of New Orleans ("kiddos, we're movin' on up to a FEMA trailer").
4. I live in Kansas....there is a big chance that either a tornado or hail is going to damage/destroy my house someday....that's why I pay good money every month to an insurance company.
5. Grow up people and take some responsibility for your own s**t. Quit crying about how it's always somebody else's fault.
6. Whack the pigs and send me the pork chops.