Snout for trout

From the wires:

A pig in China has started to catch fish from a pond for its supper.

Han, the pig's owner, created a small pond for breeding tropical fish, at her home in Dahangou village, Zhenping. She gave up on the venture when the market price for the fish dropped - but found she still had one eager customer.

"I was amazed to see that the pig I raised is helping himself to fish from the pond," she told the Eastern Asia Trade and Economic News. "It steps into the shallow water, catches fish in its mouth and happily eats them on the spot."

Han said she was happy for the pig to help itself to the fish rather than let them go to waste. "Maybe it just decided it wanted a bit more protein in its diet," she added.

Family saves Bounty's bacon

We're not telling porkies, a Potteries family really has adopted a pig!

A family of animal lovers didn't know what they were letting themselves in for when they offered to foster a pot-bellied piglet.

The Lawtons allowed Bounty to stay with them on a temporary basis ten months ago after he was rejected by her mother. But porker won over their hearts and is now a permanent fixture.

The 82kg (13-stone) pet dominates the living room, where he spends the night in a sleeping bag, requires feeds every three hours – raising the family food bill by £100 a month – and enjoys being taken for walks....

[Mother Audrey Lawton:] 'He's very affectionate and likes it when Michelle lies with him, giving him strokes and kisses, and he licks your face. When you come home he makes a noise that says he's happy to see you.'

Here at Animal News, we think it would have been more fitting if Bounty had been adopted by this family:


Bounty's story just about sums up the essence of Animal News - simply a series of highs and lows, pigs and troughs...