• by Megan Drake
• November 12, 2013
• 9:30 pm

Imagine you are a tiny piglet, only one month old. You are torn away from your mother and scrunched into a dirty truck full of other little piglets, wiggling and stepping on top of each other. You are frightened because you have no clue what is happening to you. What would you do?

Yoda’s Story

One little piggy riding down a highway in Canada decided to make a break for life. He found a small opening and jumped off a moving truck that was bound for a finishing facility. Ultimate goal: he was to be fattened up for slaughter. The piglet didn’t understand he landed on a highway full of potentially dangerous traffic.

“The people who were following that trailer saw the piglet sneak through a hole and fall off the trailer,” said Sûreté du Québec spokeswoman, Joyce Kemp, as reported by CBS News Montreal. They called police who eventually found the little guy walking along the highway. He had some bruises and abrasions on his snout from where he managed to push his way out of the truck. Otherwise, he made the great escape in good health.

Kemp reports police contacted animal control officers who eventually found a permanent place for this little piggy at Wishing Well Animal Sanctuary just north of Toronto. Brenda Bronfman, Wishing Well founder, named him Yoda. “He just loves to crawl into people’s laps and be held. He’s a little angel,” said Bronfman. “There is always somebody on the farm, and he will just be loved for the rest of his natural life.”

The Truth about Farm Animals

While animal advocates are celebrating this small victory, it should be remembered this scenario is a rare one for animals bred and destined for slaughter.  Truly, there remains a disconnect in the minds of humans who applaud Yoda’s escape but continue to eat bacon and other types of meat.

Legally, animals bred for human consumption have fewer rights than our pets and our pets’ rights are miniscule enough. Production animals are considered commodities — objects — not living, sentient beings. Why? So, humans can justify the killing and consumption as moral and normal.

Scientists have long determined pigs are more intelligent than a three-year-old child. Would anyone raise and slaughter human children for consumption? That thought is abhorrent. So why is slaughtering innocent animals for consumption okay? Food for thought…

Consider Going Vegan or Vegetarian

Change is difficult. Many humans fight changing ideological values with almost a knee-jerk reaction. But if humans really are the most intelligent of earth’s species, shouldn’t we consider changing our diet to not include flesh?

It’s never too late to change. If you are interested in finding more information about veganism, research online. Try starting with “Meatless Mondays” as a way to transition into a more humane lifestyle.  Many organizations like HSUS, AHA and MFA have information and recommendations for changing from a carnivore to an herbivore diet, including some of the most fascinating and delicious recipes.

Yoda burrows in the straw at his new forever home

Yes, Yoda is safe. He will enjoy living out his natural life at a loving farm with other animals to inspire his natural curiosities and behaviors. Have you ever wondered how many Yodas there are in this world  Out of all those little piglets on the same truck with Yoda, he was the only one who escaped his fate. Not knowing the size of the truck he jumped from, I can only estimate. One in a hundred, perhaps? That’s not very good odds, is it?