Not to be confused with Sturgis hogs.

August 6, 2005 2:46 PM

Tattooed pigs.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies (22 comments total)

Nice.
posted by fatllama at 2:48 PM on August 6, 2005

I'm not a huge animal rights advocate, but I would consider that to be animal cruelty. tattoos hurt. People who get tattoos do so with their own consent. This is using living flesh as a canvas, without consideration for the beast. And for those who might say "bah, it's just a pig", well then why not put tattoos on gorillas, or hairless cats, or maybe I'll just hold you down and put some art on your face.

For shame.
posted by furtive at 2:55 PM on August 6, 2005

Yeah, kinda mean. Kinda not that pretty eithier. Maybe the pigs have inner beauty instead.
posted by parallax7d at 3:15 PM on August 6, 2005

I'm not entirely sure, but if I were a pig, faced between the choice of a tattoo or becoming pork chops, I'd pick the ink.
posted by clevershark at 3:18 PM on August 6, 2005

clevershark: ...if I were a pig, faced between the choice of a tattoo or becoming pork chops, I'd pick the ink.

Nice try, but the pig never has a choice, so your argument is irrelevant. The choice is the owner's to make, and even then your argument is invalid because this isn't an either/or choice. You could just not do anything with the pig.

By your interpretation of things it would be ok to tattoo art on the mentally handicapped because it's better than the only other possible alternative: eugenics.
posted by furtive at 3:39 PM on August 6, 2005

Monsanto should sue the bastards.
posted by homunculus at 3:56 PM on August 6, 2005

A goldfish with a lip piercing (not a fishing gag, this thing is at an Arizona piercing studio), and assorted animal piercing and tattooing. Please don't shoot the messenger.
posted by glider at 4:01 PM on August 6, 2005

Yeah, this is pretty horrible. And that's coming from someone who is heavily tattooed and a meat eater. Cruelty is not nullified just because one asshole decided to call it "art".

I love how he justifies the ethical issues by stating that a pig on a farm would live only six months, whereas if a lucky pig gets to be one of his experimental "art works" they might actually live for up to 9 months in it's own living space. Gee... I'll bet that while that poor screaming pig is being restrained and having ink forced into its skin with needles that all he can think about is how great it will be to enjoy those three extra months lounging about in it's master bedroom.
posted by RoseovSharon at 4:45 PM on August 6, 2005

Gotta love China. One of the few places on Earth that makes America's shameful animal husbandry look decent by comparison.
posted by Kwantsar at 5:16 PM on August 6, 2005

God I hate it when someone on Mefi links to SuicideGirls.
posted by fleetmouse at 5:22 PM on August 6, 2005

zing!
posted by furtive at 5:34 PM on August 6, 2005

If they were anaesthized before tatooing so there was no pain involved, would it be okay?
posted by smackfu at 5:37 PM on August 6, 2005

while that poor screaming pig is being restrained and having ink forced into its skin with needles that all he can think about

and

If they were anaesthized before tatooing

From the first link:
Also in charge of caring for the pigs is veterinarian Wang Rui Xiang and his son, Wang Chao. The pair administer anesthesia to the pigs, allowing for two hours of tattooing per pig with a minimum rest period of two days after each tattoo.
posted by Sirius at 5:48 PM on August 6, 2005

I'm not a fan either. The anestesia makes it a bit more acceptable, but what good comes of this? A bit of entertainment? Doesn't justify it in my mind.
posted by craven_morhead at 5:49 PM on August 6, 2005

I had an iguana, Dragon for several years, and he grew from a 4" skittery lizard into a 5'5" big (friendly) lizard.
He would hold his own to cats, and had free roam of the house. I thought about piercing his duflap (under the chin) with a couple gold rings, but instead (because he didn't give consent) I just gave him a cool collar.

A couple friends of mine are tattoo artists, and used to give out free tats when they were apprenticing. I'd go to their houses, and they would have tattooed grapefruits, oranges, etc. One guy also got into scrimshaw (tattooing on bone/ivory) for practice.
I bet they would have jumped on the chance to work with some real (pig) skin in their early years.

The are both awesome artists, and have made quite a living with it.
posted by Balisong at 6:29 PM on August 6, 2005

Many 'farm' animals have a different tolerence to pain.
Has anyone here ever worked around horses? They have a much higher threshhold to pain than humans.
Every worm and goldfish, up to whale and elephant feels pain to some degree, but I don't think that a tattoo on a pig is up there with fileting off some bacon for this week.
posted by Balisong at 6:33 PM on August 6, 2005

What wil they think of next? Branding them with a hot iron?
posted by vacapinta at 6:49 PM on August 6, 2005

If they were anaesthized before tatooing so there was no pain involved, would it be okay?

But what if they don't like Van Halen and would prefer a Pink Floyd tattoo?
posted by terrapin at 8:33 PM on August 6, 2005

furtive writes "Nice try, but the pig never has a choice, so your argument is irrelevant."

Hmmmm... pork chops.

Such a better choice indeed! Yes, wholesale slaughter of a whole genus, because they can't be said to have a choice... yay!
posted by clevershark at 10:16 PM on August 6, 2005

Twice a day I stick a hypodermic needle into my cat. She doesn't like it much, though it's a thin needle and she has few nerves in the scruff of her back where I inject it. She has no choice. Does it make any difference that she has diabetes and I'm injecting insulin? Is it okay to cause pain when it's not for art? Or is it my speciesistic determination to extend her lifestyle artificially because she's a pet? Who decides?
posted by Peach at 11:42 AM on August 7, 2005

I don't wanna kill
My China pig
posted by Dr. Wu at 4:53 PM on August 7, 2005

I must admit that though I'd seen the winged pigs before but this time around I thought "yesh, but I'm sure it -hurt-".

Pig-torture wonks, fear not. These little piggies were also under the gas before they went under the needle.

Not, like, that it didn't burn for a while afterwards I'm sure but good looking out...
posted by Ogre Lawless at 10:00 AM on August 8, 2005