Cruelty to animals as a protest Artist wants to starve piglets to death - suddenly they are gone

A Danish artist wanted to draw attention to the suffering of animals with a drastic action, but a theft thwarted his plans. Instead of starving to death, three piglets on display were suddenly gone.

Danish artist Marco Evaristti wants to draw attention to the suffering of animals in industrial meat production.

The centerpiece of his exhibition in a former warehouse in the former butchery district in Copenhagen is a cage made of shopping carts, in which live piglets are exhibited without food but with water, as SRF reports.

The animals were supposed to starve to death in front of visitors to draw attention to the abuses in factory farming - thousands of piglets die every day in fattening farms in Denmark alone.

But the piglets on display do not die of starvation. Before they die, they are suddenly gone. The police in Copenhagen suspect that a Danish animal welfare organization is behind the theft. The exhibition is temporarily closed due to the incident.

Animal welfare organization claims to have picked up piglets

However, the organization De Glemste Danske (The Forgotten Danes) reported in an Instagram post that they had picked up the piglets with Evaristti's consent. One of his employees even gave them animal feed.

Despite this, Evaristti is said to have spread the news of the theft a short time later. He describes how the thieves came to the exhibition disguised as cleaning specialists. After a few minutes, they were gone and so were the piglets, writes the New York Times

The Copenhagen police confirmed to blue News that the theft of the animals and several threats against the artist had been reported to them. It does not address the contradiction between De Glemste Danske's statements and the official version of the stolen piglets.

Numerous media reports quote the artist as saying that he was disappointed to learn that one of his friends was involved in the theft. But then he came to his senses and realized that the piglets could have a good life after all.

It is currently not possible to determine whether the kidnapping of the doomed piglets is part of the staging. An inquiry to the Copenhagen police has not yet been answered.

25,000 piglets die every day in Danish fattening farms

The 62-year-old artist explained that his action was a reaction to the mistreatment of animals in factory farming. The title of the exhibition, "And Now You Care?", is aimed at both Danish livestock farming companies and consumers.

Denmark is one of the largest exporters of pork in the world. The exhibition aims to highlight the harsh reality of factory farming and encourage people to reconsider their meat consumption.

The problem of pig farming in Denmark is serious. According to Birgitte Damm from Animal Protection Denmark, around 25,000 piglets die in Danish stables every day. Many young animals starve to death as the breeding aims for 20 piglets per litter, while the mother sows only have 14 teats to suckle their young.

Threats and charges against artists

Marco Evaristti's action has not only attracted media attention, but has also led to threats against the artist and his family.

Evaristti is also facing criminal charges, as animal rights activists have reported him for cruelty to animals. Despite the controversy, the
art campaign has aroused interest worldwide and sensitized more people to the issue than the exhibition alone would have been able to.

Evaristti is known for his provocative art projects. In the past, he caused a stir with an installation called "Helena & El Pescador", in which goldfish were exhibited in blenders. Visitors to the exhibition were able to kill the fish at the touch of a button, which some actually did.

The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.

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