Hunted, beaten and tortured: The cruel reality of wild boar fighting

Wild boar hunting was very common practice at Bandera Ham Rodeo in Texas earlier this year. These animals are caught in the wild and taken to Bandera where the big show then takes place. These trapped animals are usually very young, most between just four weeks and six months old.

Wild boars are smart, maybe even smarter than dogs

These boars are scared and don’t know what is happening to them. According to PETA, studies reveal that these pigs can sense when something bad is going to happen to them.

As a result, the animals are completely aware and are terrorised as the fighters then chase the poor animals around, kicking and injuring them in the process. In a blind panic, some of them continuously run into the metal fencing, sometimes so hard that the metal bends.

The events

They squeak in fear and consequently attack other animals who are waiting for their turn. Wild boars are very clever and sociable animals who can empathise with other animals, as veterinarian Dr Ingrid Taylor from PETA explains.

This is how these spectacles go. As soon as they are released into the arena, the pigs are captured again by the fighters, put into bags and then pulled through the sand by their legs.

A spectacle with deadly consequences

After this, they are slaughtered and served as food at the after-parties. This cruelty knows no bounds and even children are present to watch. PETA particularly emphasises this fact because as a result, those who organise the events are teaching their children that it is fun to torture animals.

But this isn’t just dangerous for the animals. Wild boars carry pathogens that people can also catch if they come into contact with them. Everyone present, including the children, are susceptible to coming into contact with the animals’ blood, spit, urine or even faeces.

These bodily fluids can all transmit diseases. Wild boars are known to transmit diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis E, salmonellosis and more. Nobody seems to worry about this though and it’s more about how to make the pigs suffer the most.

Find out how you can help these wild boars on PETA’s website.