Australia’s Blood Sport: Pig Dogging – Take Action Now

Many Australians are unaware of the disgraceful way in which wild pigs are being killed throughout New South Wales and Queensland. Scroll down to find out more and add your name to our petition to end this practice.

Pig dogging is a shamefully cruel and barbaric practice in which dogs are forced to hunt wild pigs.

Pig dogging is a shamefully cruel and barbaric practice in which dogs are forced to hunt wild pigs. While hunters boast grotesquely of the adrenaline rush they experience, their treatment of the victims of this “sport” – both pigs and dogs – is deplorable.

Dogs are encouraged to chase and tire out pigs and then hold them by the ears until a human arrives to kill them. Pigs who are chased, trapped, and killed in this way experience intense fear and distress.

Pig dogging is a shamefully cruel and barbaric practice in which dogs are forced to hunt wild pigs.

Usually, hunters kill pigs by “sticking” them – stabbing them in the stomach or chest to puncture the heart – before leaving them to bleed out in a prolonged and painful death.

Because these hunts cover large areas and it’s difficult for hunters to maintain contact with their dogs, pigs are often mauled for long periods and even killed before humans arrive on the scene. In many cases, hunters actually encourage their dogs to maul the pigs.

The dogs are usually large mixed-breed ones who’ve been “blooded” to make them especially aggressive. They may be beaten, starved, and psychologically abused in order to “train” them not to retreat from a pig 10 times their size.

After enduring this trauma, they’re exposed to extreme danger during hunts. Even though they may be “armoured” – wearing protective throat collars, breastplates, and vests – they’re often injured, mutilated, and killed.

Pig dogging is a shamefully cruel and barbaric practice in which dogs are forced to hunt wild pigs.

Legislation relating to pig dogging differs from state to state, but it’s virtually impossible to take part in this blood sport without seriously compromising the intentions and regulations of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 and the Companion Animals Act 1998.

Animals need your help – let’s send a strong message to the New South Wales and Queensland state governments that this barbaric type of hunting has to be stopped. 

Images: © Farm Transparency Project

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Ban Pig Dogging

Pig dogging is a cruel and dangerous form of “entertainment” leading to serious animal welfare and environmental problems. 

Publicly available evidence reveals that the flesh of terrified pigs is torn at by trained dogs during these hunts. Because they cover large areas and it’s difficult for hunters to maintain contact with their dogs, pigs are often mauled for long periods and even killed before humans arrive on the scene. 

Sometimes humans lose contact with their dogs, who can become wild and interbreed with dingoes, therefore contributing to numbers of feral animals – the exact opposite of the supposed desired effect of these hunts. 

Pig dog hunting compromises the intentions and regulations of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 and the Companion Animals Act 1998. It results in considerable suffering for both pigs and the dogs used to hunt them. 

There is no substantiated evidence that pig dogging is an effective method of managing feral pig populations. 

On its website, the RSPCA lists six methods it considers effective for the management of feral pigs, and pig dogging is not one of them. The organisation says that “the methods used by hunters are labour intensive, expensive and not effective in reducing populations of pest animals over large areas for the long term” and that “shooting feral pigs, especially where dogs are used, can be counterproductive to other control methods because it can disperse pigs or make them more wary of humans”. 

This is a blood “sport”, not an effective means of controlling feral pig populations. It belongs in the dustbin of history. Please ban it now.

Sincerely,

[Your name], [City], [Country]

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