Pig wrestling

Pig wrestling in Chile.

Pig wrestling (also known as pig scramble^[1] and with the variants hog wrestling and greased pig catching) is a type of game sometimes played at agricultural shows such as state and county fairs, in which contestants, usually children or young adults, try to grab a slippery pig. In the most common version of the game, a team of four members chases a domestic pig around a fenced-off mud pit and attempts to place it in a barrel, in a race against the clock.^[2] In some events the pigs are greased with vegetable or mineral oil in order to make catching the pig more difficult.^[3]

Rules

Rules vary depending on the venue. Some contests use larger pigs, while others use those that are smaller. Some include a single pig, while others use more than one. The pigs are coated with shortening, vegetable oil, lard, or another lubricant. Contestants chase the pigs around a field or other determined area. Depending on the contest, contestants either try to get one or both hands on the pig, tackle and hold the pig down, or drag the pig to a set point. There may be several rounds per contest. The prize for winning is often the pig itself.^[4]

Children too young to compete in pig wrestling may compete in a greased pig chase, the object of which is to hang onto a greased pig for a certain amount of time. A more juvenile pig is often used for this competition.

Animal welfare

Concerns have been raised by animal rights organizations that using pigs in this form of entertainment is inhumane,^[4][5] since the pigs have no choice in the matter of whether they want to wrestle or not. The wrestling may impose undue emotional stress on the pigs, as evidenced by fearful squealing, and causes physical torsional stress on the pigs' joints. Some fairs have thus eliminated pig wrestling from their events.^[6] In Minnesota, pig wrestling is a misdemeanor.^[7]

In popular culture

A variant is shown in The Man in the Iron Mask in which a pig dressed to look like a unicorn is released with a valuable gem hung around its neck. The first to capture the pig is allowed to keep the treasure.

The television show Family Guy parodies this concept with the Greased-up Deaf Guy; a recurring character that first appears in "The Thin White Line" as the quarry of a company picnic event.^[8]

In a 2014 episode of the Discovery Channel series MythBusters, the Build Team investigated the difficulty of catching a greased pig, both with and without technological assistance.

See also

• Pig racing

References

Pigs
Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order Artiodactyla Suborder Suina Family Suidae Subfamily Suinae Genus Sus
Domestic	Breeding Shows Farming Intensive farming Sty Pannage Toilet Hog oiler Gestation crate Cross-fostering Swineherd As food Bacon Ham Lard Pork Scalder Slaughter Suckling Blood Religious restrictions Cuts Back bacon Boston butt Fatback Ham hock Pig's trotters Pork belly Pork chop Pork jowl Loin Tenderloin Ribs Spare ribs Pork rind Pork steak Ear Tail Other uses Bladder Racing War Wrestling Truffling
Wild and Feral	Wild boar Heraldry Hunting In the Philippines Razorback
Pigs in culture	Iron Age pig Flitch of bacon custom Miss Piggy Porky Pig Piglet "The Three Little Pigs" Babe Babe: Pig in the City Bad Piggies My Brother the Pig Charlotte's Web The Sheep-Pig Peppa Pig Super Pig Fair, then Partly Piggy Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks Olivia (character TV series) Pink Floyd pigs Pinky and Perky "This Little Piggy" Huxley Pig Wibbly Pig Zhu Bajie
Other	List of pigs List of fictional pigs Piganino Pigasus (politics) "When pigs fly"
Pigs