MollyJo was rescued off the highway in Chicago as a “truck jumper.” She was taken immediately into the care of Chicagoland Pig Rescue, who we have worked with multiple times over the last few years. MollyJo went directly to the University of Illinois, where she was assessed for injuries and tested for all the many diseases we see in high capacity confinement operations. She was then cared for in a foster home, which is typically the best case scenario for young babies who have lost their families. MollyJo is a very rare survivor of the industry that would have exploited her ability to reproduce while denying her every enjoyable thing in life.
We refer to these pigs that are typically found in production facilities as “Pinkies.” They produce huge litters of babies which are born three times a year! She represents countless others who are still trapped in that system all over the world. It’s particularly difficult to get one of these pretty young girls out from the clutches of animal agriculture and turn her into a Sanctuary Babe. Spay her. Vaccinate her. Microchip her. Give her a name and a family and a future that isn’t dependent on what she will produce.
Young pigs like MollyJo can be fostered in private homes with smaller yards, but they very quickly grow, gain hundreds of pounds, and become enormously destructive if they do not have appropriate space. While the rescue of babies is something most compassionate people can manage, the long term care of large breed pigs has a lot of special requirements. One of the key ingredients at Odd Man Inn is trying to allow the pigs as much space as we possibly can. Hooved animals naturally do a lot of damage on the land. That, combined with the natural tendency of pigs to root up the earth means they will do more destruction than Mother Nature can repair, if they are housed in too small a space. Striking a balance where MollyJo gets to live an enriching and satisfying life while also being respectful of the impact on the land is something that requires constant diligence from our onsite team. Capacity management isn’t just about available spots to sleep. It takes into consideration the lifetime care of an animal resident, which in MollyJo’s case could be 10-15 years!
