Don't Call Me Babe!
On 7 July 2003, the Irish Independent reported that a “vicious Vietnamese Pot-bellied pig” was “on the loose in Clare.” Seemingly it had been “on the loose” for a year. For the most part, it contented itself with frightening cattle, but it had also bitten a man.
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had been trailing it for some months. “We know the animal originated in the Corrovorrin area and we are sure that it was probably a family pet which either escaped or was released by its owner,” said Frankie Coote, one of the charity’s wardens.
“I am concerned that the pig will attack young children or an elderly person. No one should approach because it can cause harm or even kill,” he warned.
While Ireland may not be crawling with mystery beasts, it is a place where you will encounter exotic animals that - while they unquestionably do exist somewhere in the world - you really wouldn’t expect to find here. We had the wolf that tormented Cavan farmers in 1874; the bear that “excited the greatest interest” in and around Newry in 1895 [1]; and the panther(s) and or puma(s) that played hide-and-seek with the PSNI and the British Army in 2003.
There were multiple sightings of all of these creatures. And they all left behind physical evidence of their appearances. Yet each also left behind the impression that they weren’t entirely physical. None of these creatures were ever caught. And after causing a lot of excitement, they just disappeared again - much like poltergeists.
Was Clare’s Vietnamese Pot-bellied pig one of those creatures?
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One month later, the Irish Independent reported that the pig - who had been named Charlie by the locals [2] - had struck again on the outskirts of Ennis. This time he had chased a man walking his dog.
The Independent also reported that it still wasn’t clear where Charlie had “escaped from.” However, they gave some details of an incident that had happened the previous year - just before the Charlie sightings began.
Near the Corrovorrin housing estate in Ennis where the sightings began, there’s an abattoir. And in July 2002, a witness reported seeing two men in white coats chasing an “unusual looking” pig through the estate. It ran through a play area and escaped into some thick woodland.
A spokesperson for the abattoir said that, while they weren’t actually licensed to slaughter pigs, they had killed pigs before for “particular reasons.” However, the spokesperson would not confirm if they had lost a pig.
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The ISPCA admitted that it was struggling to find Charlie - “We just can’t pin him down.” And on 13 August, the Irish Independent reported that private investigator Sean McGovern had decided to get involved in the hunt. McGovern, seemingly, had experience in hunting wild boars, and he believed he was just the man for the job. But McGovern had no interest in capturing Charlie; he wanted to shoot him.
Frankie Coote was none too pleased with this turn of events. He told reporters that he believed Charlie could still be captured and that he had received an offer from a pet farm in County Kerry to take the animal.
“A person cannot just simply go on to lands and shoot this animal,” explained a Garda spokesperson. “The law is very specific about where a firearm can and can’t be discharged from, for example, a firearm cannot be discharged from a public roadway or within 60 yards of such a roadway.”
The ISPCA repeated that was making its own efforts to capture the pig “humanely.” And, according to Mr Coote, the ISPCA now had three offers of sanctuary for Charlie.
However, according to McGovern, because Vietnamese Pot-bellied pigs aren’t protected under the Wildlife Act, he had every right to hunt it.
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Seemingly, however, Coote and McGovern weren’t the only hunters.
Each year for the Puck Fair, which is held on 10 - 12 August in Killorglin, County Kerry, a wild goat is caught in the mountains, brought to the town and crowned King Puck. Mick MacConnell, a columnist for The Kerryman newspaper, had heard that the “Killorglin lads who capture King Puck every year” had been approached to help capture Charlie.
This prompted MacConnell - who was calling Charlie “Porksteak” - to write: “So my column this week represents a heartfelt plea to the goat catchers of Killorglin to stay at home and have nothing to do with bringing an end to ‘Porksteak’s’ spell of freedom. Dammit, for some people, ‘Porksteak’ is nothing less than a national hero.”
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“Because he is finding it very easy to get food at the moment, he is not a threat to anyone,” explained Frankie Coote. “This will change in winter as the food supply dries up and he may start to move around and attack livestock and people.”
The ISPCA’s solution, according to Coote, was to set up a sanctuary for the pig, close to where it was currently feeding, and supply it with food. A local veg shop had already promised to supply all the food needed, and the charity was looking to clear the scheme with the local farmers.
And that, as far as I can tell, is where the story ends. I don’t know if Charlie moved in to his sanctuary and lived happily ever after, if he was gunned down in a shoot out with the PI or if - like his intangible kin - he just simply disappeared..
Charlie may just have been a real flesh and blood pig. But he shared a lot of characteristics with the Newry bear, the Cavan wolf and the Antrim pumas/panthers. They all appeared to have come from nowhere - and just as quickly returned there. All were said to have escaped from private ownership - but their owners were never discovered. They managed to elude all those who sought to capture or kill them (Coote claimed to have heard Charlie foraging for food in the darkness, but never actually saw him). And they all seemed to have been absorbed back into the few wild places left in Ireland.
Charlie, like the others, was there - but not there.
I could be horribly wrong about all of this, of course. But even if I am - it’s a great story. And if you can add to it or - just as importantly - correct it, please get in touch.
Notes:
1 Richard Muirhead includes some material on the Newry bear in his ‘Irish Snakes, Wild Cats and Other Mystery Animals’ chapter in Biofortean Notes Volume 2. It’s defiintely worth a look.
2 The Irish Independent was my main source for this post. And while the Irish Independent covered this story from the beginning, they never referred to the pig as Charlie. It wasn’t until I came across Mick MacConnell’s piece in The Kerryman that I discovered that the locals had given him this name.
Sources:
- The Evening Herald, 7 August 2003
- The Irish Independent, 7 July 2003 and 7, 13, 14 & 30 August 2003
- The Kerryman, 14 August 2003
Pardon my ignorance here, but I thought Ireland had wild boars? Or is that just a used-to-be thing? I thought I remembered pictures of hunters and boars and deer, though I may be thinking of English tapestries and not things that are Irish. I'm woefully unclear about Irish wild animals in the modern era.
ReplyDeleteHi Mamafrog. As far as I know, wild boar have been extinct here for a couple of centuries. However, there’s evidence that “herds of wild boar” are being re-introduced - illegally - in some parts of the country. On the discovery of three separate herds in July 2013, ISPCA warden Frankie Coote told the Irish Examiner: “These could have been released by people who took them in as pet and realised that they could not look after them, but I believe that they are being introduced by people who have an interest in coming back again and shooting the animals.”
DeleteDefinitely not a good idea after what has happened here in the Southern US! They are horrendously destructive and truly dangerous. It wouldn't be so bad if the populations could be kept small but they seldom are. I like a good ham and love bacon, but they are better managed on a farm.
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