Thanks to the compassionate caregivers at Farm Animal Refuge, Firecracker the rescue pig overcame the cruelty of animal agriculture. His remarkable story shows us that every pig is a unique individual, worthy of our compassion and respect.
Eating homemade treats, rolling around in the grass, playing tug-of-war, and snuggling with animal friends—this may sound like a day in the life of your typical family dog, but we’re actually describing the adventures of Firecracker, a beloved rescue pig with a big personality!
Today, Firecracker is one of the most popular residents at Farm Animal Refuge in San Diego, but his life wasn’t always this idyllic. Like millions of other pigs, Firecracker was brought into this world with the express purpose of being raised and killed for food. His previous owners didn’t see Firecracker as the special individual that he is—they saw him as merely a product for consumption. They neglected his most basic needs—keeping him in a darkened shed and feeding him scraps of food—and planned to slaughter him for meat when he was just six months old.
But, thanks to the compassionate caregivers at Farm Animal Refuge, Firecracker escaped this gruesome fate. After young vegan activists launched a petition to free Firecracker, Farm Animal Refuge co-founders Jordan and Matt opened up their hearts and their home to give him the second chance he deserved. And, with his newfound freedom, Firecracker began to blossom, showing off all of his endearing qualities to the other sanctuary residents, volunteers, and visitors.
Although there’s no denying that Firecracker is a special guy, the truth is, he’s not so different from other members of his species. Pigs are intelligent, social animals, who have the capacity to feel empathy and show affection—not unlike the dogs and cats we share our homes with. In fact, the biggest difference between Firecracker and the millions of other pigs suffering in our broken food system is that he was actually given a chance.
If more humans learn about the horrific abuse that pigs like him endure in the meat industry, we can spread the same compassion and care that the folks at Farm Animal Refuge gave to Firecracker—to all pigs. His story shows us that pigs deserve better than the abuse they face in the meat industry, and inspires us to make the world a more compassionate place for pigs.
Firecracker's Story
The life of pigs raised for food
Factory farms keep pigs in barren, filthy conditions.
Barren, Filthy Conditions
Before he was rescued, the only place Firecracker had to call home was a darkened shed—four walls and concrete floors with no sunlight, no grass, no enrichment. Sadly, for the 97% of pigs who spend their lives on factory farms in the US, the barren conditions and tight confinement that Firecracker experienced are the norm. Additionally, these pigs are crowded into factory farms with hundreds of other individuals.
A trait that Firecracker and factory farmed pigs have in common is a desire to be in a “clean, dry environment.” In fact, because they meticulously maintain their nests in the wild, pigs are one of the cleanest species in the world. However, farmers force pigs like Firecracker to wallow in their own filth—allowing their excrement to pile up on concrete floors and contaminate the air with an unbearable stench. The conditions are so unsanitary that diseases can run rampant among pigs, subjecting their bodies to even more distress. Overall, until he was given a second chance at Farm Animal Refuge, Firecracker's living conditions barely provided what he needed to survive—let alone, have a life worth living.
Abuse and Neglect
Firecracker was only brought into this world for one reason: to be raised and killed for food. In the eyes of our food system, Firecracker wasn’t a living being with thoughts and feelings. He was a product for consumption, and the world treated him as such. In addition to keeping him in barren, filthy conditions, surrounded by his own waste, his previous owners fed him a diet of only food scraps—barely enough for him to survive on. And, perhaps most shockingly, they sometimes fed Firecracker meat from other pigs in a practice known as forced cannibalism, which is widely decried as one of the most heinous forms of animal cruelty.
Although shocking, Firecracker’s experience was on par with the abuse and neglect that other pigs raised for food go through every day. Because the meat industry sees pigs merely as a means to an end, and not as as living, feeling beings, it subjects pigs to horrific forms of torture to produce the most meat for the lowest cost. Baby piglets suffer through painful mutilations at the hands of the meat industry—the tips of their tails cut off, their teeth removed, and their ears sliced open—often without anesthetic or pain relief. These experiences leave pigs traumatized. Throughout their short lives on factory farms, pigs display signs of severe anxiety and depression, engaging in harmful behaviors like biting the metal bars of their cage until their mouths bleed.
On factory farms, pigs will spend a majority of their lives trapped in tight, metal cages.
Due to the abuse and neglect they endure in factory farms, pigs spend their entire lives living in fear, never experiencing a loving touch or gentle care from the hands of a human. Thankfully, Firecracker was able to escape this fate and learn to trust again, but millions of other pigs are not so lucky.
Slaughtered as babies
Firecracker at six months old. ❘ Farm Animal Refuge
When Jordan and Matt of Farm Animal Refuge first met Firecracker, they assumed he was a full-grown pig. After all, he was massive—about the weight of a Mastiff, the largest dog breed in the world. However, they soon discovered that Firecracker still had lots of growing to do.
In actuality, he was only 180 pounds and six months old, which is a typical slaughter age and weight for a pig in the world. (It’s) completely baffling that they’re slaughtered so young. He came to us when he was just a baby.
That’s right: the pork industry breeds pigs to reach “market weight”—the size when the industry deems pigs ideal for slaughter—at only six months old. A combination of decades of selective breeding and constant feeding of low quality corn and soy products makes pigs gain weight at an exorbitant rate. So, even though their size might make them look full-grown, pigs are essentially still babies when they are sent to the slaughterhouse. If their lives weren’t cut short by the meat industry, pigs would continue to mature and have the potential to grow up to 700 pounds, just like Firecracker did in the years after he was rescued. In fact, when they’re allowed to live out their lives in healthy, safe conditions, pigs can live up to 20 years.
And, when pigs are given a chance to live outside of our broken food system, we’re actually able to witness what unique, intelligent individuals they can be—just like Jordan and Matt experienced when they brought Firecracker back to his new home. Watching a pig like Firecracker go about his day—playing, solving problems, and interacting with other animals and humans—we may soon start to realize that pigs aren’t so different from you and me.
Pigs are a lot like us
He's social and emotional
When Firecracker came to Farm Animal Refuge, he made fast friends with the other rescue residents, forming an especially close relationship with Grace, a rescued dairy calf.
While Firecracker has gained a reputation for being quite the social butterfly, the ability to create lifelong bonds with other animals is actually typical of his species. Pigs are “naturally gregarious animals,” preferring the company of a group of other pigs. They travel in packs, work together to find food and shelter, and even sleep snout-to-snout with one another. In fact, you’ll often see Firecracker snuggling up with his two penmates, Diamond and Harmony, after a long day of playing in the sun!
Firecracker gets to spend all day with his piggy friends. ❘ Farm Animal Refuge
Pigs don’t just prefer the company of one another for practical reasons—they also genuinely enjoy spending time with one another. Studies have shown that pigs are much happier when they get to live with close companions. Remarkably, they also have the ability to empathize with one another: when they see their friends happy, they feel happy, too! And, thankfully, Firecracker and his friends have plenty to be happy about at Farm Animal Refuge.
He's intelligent
How did Firecracker make so many friends? Well, it starts with being a great communicator. Whenever Matt wakes up Firecracker in the morning, Firecracker always rushes to give him “piggy puffs”—little snout touches that serve as a greeting to both Matt and other pigs! And, although piggy puffs are perhaps the sweetest way that pigs communicate, they have many ways of expressing themselves. They use at least 20 distinct vocalizations to “convey information” to one another, on everything from where to find the nearest food source to how they’re feeling at the current moment.
Pigs possess a well-developed, large brain.
Their remarkable abilities to communicate and process information stem from the fact that they’re highly intelligent animals. In fact, scientists found that pigs are the fifth most intelligent species in the world—outranking dogs, and even outperforming three-year-old human children on some cognitive tests. “Pigs possess a well-developed, large brain,” according to the Humane Society of the United States. “They have an outstanding ability to learn from experience, and combine new information with previously remembered events. They have even been observed to work in collaboration to free themselves from their pens.” In short, Firecracker isn’t just big on the outside—he has a big brain, too!
He has a unique personality
Anyone who meets Firecracker can see he has a big personality. Just like us, he likes spending time with his closest friends, having freedom to relax and play when he wants to, and snacking—he even has a long list of favorite foods (homemade blueberry pancakes are his absolute favorite)! Likes, dislikes, hobbies, relationships—these are all what make us unique individuals. And, even though he may look different than us, Firecracker is just as unique as you or me.
Firecracker with caregivers Jordan and Matt ❘ Farm Animal Refuge
Firecracker is able to thrive and show his true colors to the world because Matt and Jordan showed him compassion. They saw him as the gentle, sentient individual that he is—not a product for consumption. Firecracker deserved better than being raised and killed for food, and, thanks to Farm Animal Refuge, he finally got the loving home and life he deserved.
But, sadly, millions of other pigs who are just as emotional and intelligent as Firecracker aren’t given the same opportunity. They spend their entire lives trapped within our broken food system, until they’re slaughtered as babies. This is where you come in.
Pigs deserve better
We all have the power to change the world for pigs and extend the same care and compassion that Farm Animal Refuge shared with Firecracker. When we leave pigs off our plate and make the switch to compassionate, plant-based alternatives, we take a stand against the abuse and neglect that pigs experience in the meat industry. Together, we can build a future where all pigs are free to be themselves and live in peace with one another, just like Firecracker.