Many of us remember Babe,the hero piglet who saves the day in the heart-warming 1995 Australian film of the same name. Through this movie alone, the loving personality and sociable nature of pigs has been imprinted in countless people’s hearts.

Pigs are among the most intelligent animals on Earth. In fact, according to scientific studies, their intelligence level surpasses that of a three-year old child!

They are also very sensitive and caring beings as shown by the fact that mother pigs sing to their piglets while they are nursing!

Today we will travel to Jamestown, Tennessee, USA, to visit The Pig Preserve, a non-profit sanctuary for abandoned, neglected, abused and homeless pigs run by Richard and Laura Hoyle.

Currently the facility houses approximately 60 residents.

Mr. and Mrs. Hoyle cordially showed us around the sanctuary and introduced us to some of its beautiful pigs.
In the following conversation, Mr. Hoyle first describes The Pig Preserve’s humble beginnings.

Mr Hoyle(m): My wife had always liked pigs. We had this pig, her name was Paddy Murphy, for about a year or so and we felt she should have a companion pig, so we took in a little rescued male.
At that time we were living in Northern Virginia (USA).

We had an acre and a half (0.6 hectares) and somehow, and to this day I am not sure exactly how, the phone started ringing and “I understand you rescue pigs.

We have a pig we need you to take.” And in about a year and a half we were up to 22 pigs. We started learning about how to run a sanctuary. We actually did an internship with a sanctuary in West Virginia and we started looking for another piece of land.

We moved from our acre and half to 17 acres (seven hectares). And 17 acres did us well as long we were just doing (caring for) the potbellies (pigs).

And then once again as we expanded into the farm pigs, we just realized we needed more land.
For more about the pig preserve,please visit
www.thepigpreserve.org