Unique talent saves arty pig from slaughter

(28 Mar 2017) LEADIN: A farmyard pig in South Africa is causing a stir in the art world with a unique talent for painting. Pigcasso the sow was saved from slaughter and now brings home the bacon by selling her colourful creations around the world. STORYLINE This pig was destined for the market. But instead she found a safe haven to live out her days among the vineyards of Franschoek. She's been discovering her potential as an artist and so far has not been making a pig's ear of it. It's a role in which "Pigcasso" the painting pig is flourishing. She began painting in October 2016 and is already selling her artworks, described by some as abstract expressionist, around the world. These art pieces have sold for between US $280 and US $2000 each. German art collector Frank Schoenan is one of the buyers. "When I looked through the art collection, what was important for me was which piece I start a relationship with. For my choice what was very important was the colour selection, and the brush stroke on the canvas was also important for me. I would say also the whole composition. It looks a bit like pop art – maybe because of the colours. These are the reasons I like the piece," he says. The funds raised from art sales go towards the South African Farm Sanctuary, a haven for rescued farm animals. Joanne Lefson, who manages the sanctuary, says Pigcasso has innate artistic talent. "She was really small when I rescued her. She was the size of a small shoe box and literally doubled in size almost every week. But she's very smart and intelligent so I placed a few balls and some paintbrushes and things in her pen, and it wasn't long before I discovered that she really liked the bristles and the paintbrush for some reason. And it was just a case of nurturing that talent and seeing how she developed as a smart individual animal here at the sanctuary. And she just really took a knack for it." Lefson hopes that Pigcasso's growing fame as an artist will help draw attention to the way factory pig farms are run. "Pigcasso wants to help consumers make the connection between what they eat and the life of an amazing individual, and hopefully inspire them to make kinder more compassionate choices at the supermarket. As an organization Farm Sanctuary SA hopes to use Pigcasso to really make a stand with our South African pork industry and for them to outlaw cell confinement systems – which are outdated in the EU and in many parts of the world. We believe as an organization that consumers would never accept this and that it's time for them to really phase them out. And we think Pigcasso is the one to pioneer the cause." Cell-confinement, or gestation crates are the individual stalls that sows, or female pigs are kept in at piggeries. Since 2013 in the European Union, pregnant sows must be placed in group pens for at least the first two and half months of the just over four month pregnancy. Lefson would like all pigs to be kept in group pens at South African piggeries such as at Chalala Farms near Cape Town. Housing 4800 sows, this is the biggest piggery in Africa according to the South African Pork Producer's Organisation. Farmer Jeffrey van Zyl explains why gestation crates are used. "We put them into crates, basically the first and most reason is for aggressiveness. Sows are very aggressive. They do fight a lot when they mix together and especially straight after they've been serviced. So we keep them in the crates to protect them against their own, because they will fight with each other." It is particularly during early pregnancy that the sows are prone to aggressive behaviour, according to van Zyl. But he says the industry is changing. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/6efea104c104c3637acc07aa471a9c3e Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork