Director’s Statement

This film project began when I met Katniss, a therapy pig, at the college where I work. She was there with her person Erin to help students de-stress during finals week. Spending time with a pig, especially one trained to be in social situations with groups of human beings, is much different than being with a dog or cat. This quote attributed to Winston Churchill explains it well: “Dogs look up to you, cats look down on you. Give me a pig! He looks you in the eye and treats you as an equal.” This much is true: when a pig looks you in the eye, you see intelligence and measure. They’re curious about you in much the same way you’re curious about them.

A few weeks later I interviewed Erin and her husband Andrew at their farm for a few hours and we talked about the work of farm animal rescue, which shares many traits with ‘cat and dog’ rescue but is more socially political and radical. Erin and Andrew shared their story about having adopted a pet pig, then two, and having fallen in love with them, they began to develop their own plans to rescue pigs that would otherwise go to slaughter. Beneath that story was another one that Erin wouldn’t share until several months later after we became friends. Erin’s life was not about animal rescue at all, and then suddenly, it was her entire world.

Erin became one of the foremost experts on pigs and pig rescue through a tragedy that changed how she experienced life. Her story is unique and powerful: as a student she witnessed the Columbine shootings at her high school; years later she was in a debilitating car accident that brought back suppressed memories of that day. With months of difficult physical and mental recovery ahead of her, she relied on Pippy, her 6-month-old pet pig, for emotional support. Ultimately, Erin credited Pippy with her recovery and dedicated her life to rescuing pigs. She agreed to share this story on camera for the first time as a way of illustrating the path of her life’s work.

I spent two years driving out to Hog Haven Farm just about every weekend. Erin and Andrew became my friends, and I became friends with many of their resident pigs. They all got used to me following them around with a camera, and after a few months Erin began filming herself when I wasn’t there. Her videos became part of this film, giving it an additional level of intimacy and depth. There are over 100 hours of film that eventually got edited down to the stories you see in the final version. Ultimately, the story of the three rescued piglets (Primrose, Florence and Ruth) and their adopted mother Burgie became the centerpiece of the film because their story distills everything there is to know about animal rescue: they need families, care, and compassion just like we humans do.

Over the course of production this documentary grew to represent the views of thousands of people who are dedicated to the work of farm animal rescue. Hog Haven Farm is a microcosm of the huge network of farm animal sanctuaries across the country that work closely with each other to rescue and rehabilitate these highly emotional and intelligent animals. The entire purpose of my film is to provide an accessible, entertaining and ultimately educational way for viewers to learn about the lives of rescued farm animals and create a connection to them.

Please don’t eat my friends. +

~ Christopher Beeson

+ I was a 20-year vegetarian before meeting Erin and Andrew and becoming vegan. Theoretically, being vegan was always the clear choice, but I didn’t put that into action until I spent two years constantly talking with Erin and Andrew about industrial agriculture and factory farming. We do not eat our pets (including horses), and the cognitive dissonance that allows us to justify eating ‘farm animals’ is complex; it’s perpetuated by industrial agricultural companies and factory farms that maintain an advertising campaign of distance between how we think of farm animals in bright, grassy pastures and the ‘choice cuts’ for sale in the supermarket. It’s perpetuated by the myths that we need to drink the milk of other animals and eat their flesh because we are hunter-gatherers who rely on crazy amounts of protein and fat to survive.

Animals bred for human food are raised in the cruelest imaginable situations. That alone should be reason enough to change our eating habits.

We are a technologically advanced society that no longer relies on animal flesh for food, shelter, or clothing. The reasons people persist in using animals for those purposes are no longer valid (‘Because I want to’ is only a valid reason if you’re a child). Even if you disagree with that, consider the practices of factory farms and agriculture, which are destroying our ability to exist on this planet. We are literally killing ourselves out of plain old human stubbornness.

Keep fighting for compassion and reason, because that is what humans must do. Suffering is not incurable.