You Can Cuddle Pigs And Feed Them Cookies At This Animal Sanctuary

Where are my pet lovers? *raises hand* Are you thinking this is another post about doggos or kitties? Sorry to disappoint, but read on. I’m talking about pigs! Did you know that over the last 22 years “the number of mini-pigs [owned] in the United States and Canada has risen from 200,000 to perhaps as many as a million”?

Crazy, right? Still not convinced to consider adoption of these pudgy, snorting creatures? How about cuddling one to help out a non-profit? A South Carolina rescue farm, Cotton Branch Farm Sanctuary, posted a Facebook ad that reads: “WANTED: Piggy Cuddlers.” This farm is seeking volunteers to socialize over 100 piggies!

What’s the catch? Well, you’ll need to offer “belly scratches, cookies, sitting with, and even just talking to” the pigs.

Oh no! Not belly scratches!!!

Recently, this farm rescued over 500 pigs and 400 of them have gone to good homes through human interaction and socialization methods. Given these piglets were abused, they need to be acclimated to society again. Cotton Branch’s socialization events occur three days a week as they strive to meet their mission.

Per National Geographic, there are similarities to raising a pigs like dogs, however oinkers tend to be more motivated by food. It’s obvious, given the portly cuteness of these little lovers.

“Pigs can be trained to follow a human hand to receive a reward,” says Kristina Horback, an assistant professor of animal science at the University of California.

She’s “trained many adult female pigs to follow her hand in order to use a touch screen or joystick with their snout to receive food rewards.”

How about that! And to back up real-time research, the Executive Director of the Cotton Branch Farm Sanctuary states, “They are quicker to house train than a dog.”