Yesterday Banbh left this world and her home at Eden. At sixteen years of age, this dreaded day was inevitable. This morning our sanctuary is a different place without her. We miss the way she would chat to us, from the time she heard us approaching her barn with her meals or a treat, or when we popped in just to say hello and see if she needed anything from us. We miss her kind and wise face and the beautiful presence she brought to Eden.
The life she led at Eden was in stark contrast to her origins. She was taken from a standard pig farm by a family that subsequently used her as a breeding sow. Every year she was sent to a boar to be impregnated. Every year, having lovingly nursed and cared for her piglets, they were taken from her to be slaughtered. Banbh was such a sensitive, loving pig who treasured the care and affection we gave her, that we can only imagine how good a mother she was. It is tragic that she endured these years of exploitation, having a male forced on her when it was not of her choosing; having her precious body used because of her capacity to give birth and be a mother; having experienced the grief of losing so many piglets because of the human demand for pig flesh. The family that took her from an industrial farm, imagined that they had ‘rescued’ her. For sure, they saved her from being slaughtered but they merely changed the conditions of her exploitation and prevented her from living the kind of life that was her right, free from human use.
We are so grateful that she eventually experienced the peace and care of a vegan sanctuary where she blossomed, and we were very fortunate to be blessed with her company for eight years.
She arrived at Eden in 2018 when she was eight years old. Not long after her arrival, we noticed that her skin was extremely irritated and had gone black in colour. She had contracted mange caused by a microscopic burrowing mite, from the male pig she had been sent to. It took months of treatment for her to recover, and we had to completely change her housing and bedding to prevent any further contamination. I remember so well the first day I saw Banbh relaxing and lying outside in the sun. She had been stressed and highly irritated with intense itch and sore skin until we treated her.
Banbh made an incredible mark on those of us who knew her, even if only for a short time. I am attaching a photo of the dignity with which her body was honoured after she left us by one of our staff members who cared for her meticulously at the end of her life. Banbh was an unassuming, undemanding pig who loved digging in her paddock and resting in the sun. She very much appreciated human company, attention and contact. We regularly massaged her and took special care of her skin because of her early history of mange. She loved her meals and treats and for the last few months of her life, we spoiled her with a higher calorie pig food and as much mango, melon, pineapple and banana as she wanted. Right before she was put to sleep, she enjoyed some slices of pineapple, and we syringed pineapple juice into her mouth.
We’ve known Banbh was getting weaker for the last few years. Every now and then she would become unwell and be disinclined to leave her barn. At Eden, we respect that other animals know their own bodies and limits better than we do, and we don’t push them to do anything they don’t want. In the last hours of her life, Banbh’s body indicated to us that she most likely had cancer. We are very grateful that she was on extra pain relief and steroids for the last few weeks. She left this life as quickly, gracefully and peacefully as she arrived at our sanctuary eight years ago. She has left a huge emptiness and sadness in her wake.
Although it is a beautiful name, we can’t take credit for naming her Banbh. She was named by the family who took her from the farm where she was born. Ironically, Banbh is the Irish word for a baby pig. I have often wondered about Banbh’s experience of being a mother and the fate of her piglets. Anyone who has eaten ‘pork’, or a ‘bacon’ sandwich, has eaten a young pig who was separated from a mother like Banbh who no doubt grieved their loss. Anyone who has paid for pig flesh, has financially supported the same exploitation that most people are appalled by when read in the context of a pig who has a name, and whose personality and feelings are highlighted. Anyone who has eaten pig flesh is responsible for the slaughter of a vulnerable, defenceless young animal, who was every bit as sensitive as Banbh, and who valued their life just as she valued hers. On a vegan sanctuary the horror of animal use is very visceral for us because we know its individual victims such as Banbh and we know that their rights are violated by all forms of animal use whether that occurs on so called factory farms or smallholdings. Banbh has been a huge inspiration for our work at Go Vegan World. We will remember her with love.
