Obituary Rosine and Betty
they were peaceful and content
Rosine was one of the Kune-Kune pigs that took part in the Clever Pig Lab’s behavioural observation project. In the Clever Pig Lab, the Kune-Kune pigs were used to study social structures and social behaviour as well as ethical behaviour of pigs. We know that pigs are highly social and intelligent, but little research has been done into their natural behaviour. We also wanted to find out about the mental life of pigs. The project revealed highly interesting behavioural patterns in the pigs, which were able to show the researchers what they are capable of in free-range conditions. Sultana had already been special in the project.
Our vet Marianne comes up with one word that best describes Rosine: peaceful. Rosine’s calm and friendly nature stood out from day one. She was able to instil confidence in anxious people, especially children, with her calm and unobtrusive manner. Rosine was rarely found alone and was always out and about in the meadow with her best friends Radieschen, Raya and Rubina (sadly also deceased), Bella and Bijou.
Everyone loved being Rosine’s friend. She loved to snuggle up close to her friends and take a cosy nap.
At the age of almost fourteen, our Rosine suffered a serious infection that we were unable to get under control despite medical efforts. Rosine’s body became weaker and we knew what it all meant.
Peace had been her motto in life, and so she herself fell asleep peacefully and very close to all her friends. Unfortunately, even the best medicine reaches its limits – we humans and her bristly friends miss Rosine. Together with mum Rosalie and sister Rubina, she is now smiling over the Rainbow Bridge into the land where she spent many years.
Betty, a beautiful pink domestic pig, was a little piglet advertising plastic slatted floors. There’s no straw for the pigs in this type of housing. People think that straw keeps them warm. It was very warm in the exhibition hall, so nobody was worried about the piglets standing on the green-coloured slatted floors. Pigs need a bed of straw to keep them warm but cool at the same time. They like to bury themselves in the straw. Healthy pig skin smells of straw, skin and bristles.
The curly tails of the piglets at the exhibition had already been docked. Only children question why one pig has a curly tail and another does not. In the large breeding pens, where hundreds of pigs have to live close together, they start to mutilate each other – so the curly tails are docked straight away.
Betty stood in the exhibition for a fortnight and had no chance to retreat. Bureaucratic machinations after the show would have had Betty and the other piglets transported to the slaughterhouse. Betty was still so young and at the end of the show she was at the end of her tether. A farmer took pity on the little piglet and so Betty became our Aiderbichl Betty, where she lived for many good years. All the other piglets also became Aiderbichlers.
Betty showed us recently that she was getting worse. She could no longer move properly and had no strength to stand up. No medication would help. Betty’s eyes looked weakened and she was struggling to breathe. In the presence of all her carers and all her bristly friends, our Betty fell asleep quietly. It was so quiet in the pig palace, you couldn’t hear a single grunt. The many pigs all around said goodbye to their Betty, who slowly walked into the land without pain.
Thousands of people who say they love animals sit down once or twice a day to savour the flesh of creatures who have been robbed of everything that would have made their lives worth living - and who have had to endure the terrible suffering and terror of slaughterhouses - and the journey there - before finally leaving their miserable world, all too often after a painful death.
— Jane Goodall, British behavioural scientist
Dear Rosine, dear Betty,
Two special pigs with special stories have gone. We learnt an incredible amount from you and will never stop telling people how socially valuable and clever pigs are. So long, you two.
