By Rick Green

Copyright keenesentinel

A traditional county fair event known as the pig scramble would be outlawed under legislation being proposed by N.H. Rep. Cathryn Harvey.

The event, which features children trying to win piglets by catching them and placing them in a bag, is inhumane and stressful to the animals, the Spofford Democrat said Wednesday.

Others say this is just good, clean competition for kids. They say the pigs are treated well as are other livestock at county fairs.

Harvey said she has seen a number of pig scrambles, including at the Cheshire Fair in Swanzey.

“The goal is to catch a pig by its hind legs, hold it upside down to get it into a feed sack and bring that feed sack over to a referee who will tie it shut and cut a hole for the snout,” she explained.

“Veterinarians tell me that grabbing a pig by the hind legs is an invitation to dislocate the joints. It’s very dangerous for the pig.”

She also said these events play out over the summer, and the pigs swelter once they are in the sack, which used to be breathable burlap but now is made of plastic.

Harvey has filed a request for legislation to be drawn up that would be similar to a law passed in Minnesota that outlaws these competitions. Rhode Island has also banned such events.

She said scramble rules — such as not grabbing the pigs by the ears, not sitting on them, not ganging up on them — tend to fall by the wayside in the excitement.

“The prevailing thought is that this is just wholesome fun,” Harvey said. “And maybe if you are a spectator it is, but if you’re a pig it certainly isn’t.”

She attended a pig scramble at the Cheshire Fair, and said she saw that pigs are sometimes in bags for too long.

“I sat in the arena next to a pig in a plastic bag, squealing because a child was waiting for a brother to compete in another heat,” she said. “Also there are some people who capture pigs who really don’t have farms, so they are standing at the doorway with a pig in a plastic bag, trying to sell it.”

Harvey said pig scrambles teach kids to be rough with animals, and encourage them to do something for entertainment that is not part of typical farm life.

Susan Robinson, one of the directors of the Cheshire Fair Board, rejects the notion that pig scrambles are inhumane.

“The pigs are actually very humanely treated,” she said.

Robinson said farm families invest time and money in their livestock and don’t want animals hurt.

She said some people misinterpret the meaning of pig squeals that are heard during a scramble.

“Pigs squeal all the time,” Robinson said. “They will squeal to show displeasure, but also when excited or when they are playing or running.”

She said she has watched pig scrambles for years, and never saw a pig that was hurt.

The pigs are typically put in dog crates after the competition and not left in bags.

“The pigs are as happy as little clams,” Robinson said.

The pigs are generally about 10 weeks old, she said, adding that 40 are released in a scramble and there are no more than 60 children trying to catch them. Winners get the pig and 50 pounds of free feed.

She said that catching domesticated animals is part of daily life on a farm, whether it be for vaccination, castration or other reasons.

Harvey acknowledged she may have a difficult time getting a majority of lawmakers to support her bill in the Republican-controlled Legislature next year.

“This is a bill that reminds people of mom and apple pie and some people might think how dare I attack an American tradition such as this,” she said.

House Majority Leader Jason Osborne made fun of her bill in a news release sent out by email on Monday, defending pig scrambles as a competition that “tests skill, grit and determination.”

“If Democrats had their way, next year’s fair will feature volunteers chasing pigs in yoga pants with a participation trophy at the finish line.”

The exact wording of Harvey’s bill isn’t available yet, but she said there has been a misunderstanding by some that it would apply to competitions involving only greased pigs, when in fact it would ban all such events. Many pig scrambles held in New England don’t involve greasing the animals, she said.