Esther the Wonder Pig Fans Outraged by University Pig Roast

On July 4, the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) at the University of Guelph in Canada is hosting an annual pig roast for its graduates—and fans of Esther the Wonder Pig aren’t happy about it. The University of Guelph is also home to the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), where Esther is currently a patient. After the famous pig was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, Esther’s dads, Derek Walter and Steven Jenkins, raised more than $650,000 to donate a large-animal CT scanner to OVC’s animal hospital to help large animals like Esther receive proper care. The recent announcement of OAC’s pig roast at the university has caused outrage, as evidenced by the 1,700 comments on the school’s Facebook post about the roast. “I can’t believe your school is hosting such an event! An animal sanctuary whose namesake is a commercial pig raises money to donate a $600K large animal CT scanner to your animal hospital and in return the school hosts a pig roast,” user Toni Mansfield said. “Do you not see the hypocrisy in this? She is also currently a patient at the OVC.” According to comments, Walter and Jenkins have offered to donate several cases of vegan Beyond Meat burgers and sausages that they have been saving for Esther’s birthday on July 1. “It would show huge respect and consideration on your part to ensure that Esther’s loved ones don’t have to step outside on campus and see and smell an entire pig impaled and roasting over open flames,” user Linda Baril said. A Change.org petition to cancel the pig roast was created by supporters of Esther and the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary and has collected more than 4,000 signatures.