The Secret Life of Pigs

An engaging and enlightening book about pigs and the special humans that rescue, care and advocate for them.

From factory farms to sanctuaries, pigs live rich and complex lives often hidden from us. In this two-part book, Marine veteran Richard Hoyle and renowned activist Anita Krajnc give us an in-depth look into their experience caring for pigs--and its cost.

From his sanctuary in Tennessee, Hoyle describes the many challenges and lessons that come with caring for pigs for thirty-six years. It all began with one pig named Patti Murphy, which Rich purchased with trepidation to please his loving wife, Laura. Then, in a plot twist that Rich, a professional firefighter and paramedic, calls one of the most bizarre in his life, he fell in love with that sweet little freethinking pig. When the eighties' mini-pig fad ended in the tragic abandonment of thousands of these pigs, the Hoyle's created a sanctuary to rescue as many as they could, and The Pig Preserve was borne.

Rich takes the reader on a journey about the unique way these pigs changed his life with transformative love and care. Each pig's personality shines through the page. The second part of this book presents the reality of a pig's life under the control of humans. Anita Krajnc describes her own experiences with pigs--the dark and violent world of factory farming. Mutilation, abuse, and sickness are part of their daily lives, long before they ever see the inside of a slaughterhouse. Arrested in 2015 for offering water to pigs inside of a commercial trailer, Krajnc speaks out against the treatment of these caring and intelligent creatures. Krajnc contrasts life on The Pig Preserve with ways in which we humans exploit and abuse these sensitive, intelligent mammals, so like us that Biologists refer to them as "horizontal humans." She describes how the global Animal Save Movement, which she co-founded, bears witness to this tragedy, while also raising awareness of the environmental and health benefits of switching to plant-based foods.