Pigs pay a big price for fame
The Coromandel’s famous Pig Man is fed up with people pinching his pets.
Stu Edmondson’s pig farm, along the 309 Road between Coromandel and Whitanga, has become a massive, unofficial, tourist attraction and is even listed as among the top things to do in the area on TripAdvisor.
But his increased fame has brought with it an increase in thefts.
‘‘It was after a chap did a video that we became known and the pigs started getting targeted,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve seen cars pull up on the side of the road, grab one, and drive off at high speed.
‘‘Sometimes a hunter who had a bad hunt will come and take one. One guy even shot a pig on the side of the road up there.
‘‘It’s heartbreaking to see it. It really is.’’
Stu is still not quite sure how he and the pigs became so famous.
‘‘People just enjoy seeing them, particularly English tourists, they love it. The animals are nice and furry and friendly.’’
Stu’s pigs are never ‘‘sent to market’’ and are free to live out their lives on his property.
The mass of semi-wild pigs roaming about the farmland, and on the 309 road, often bring travellers to a halt.
The pigs, and Stu, have appeared in countless photo albums all over the world after being snapped by eager tourists.
Stu has raised hundreds of pigs since he started in 2005 and is usually found wandering around conversing with tourists.
If you’re lucky he’ll even let you name a pig.
His connection to his beloved pigs is so strong he can recall every name given to them by visitors and can easily point them out.
‘‘This here is Eric,’’ he said holding a newborn pig.
‘‘An English tourist gave him the name. That one over there is Owen. He was named by a Welsh tourist after her boyfriend. I never learned if it was the current boyfriend or not. That’s Sheila. Aussies always seem to want to name them Sheila.’’
His close connection with the pigs means each one stolen or killed hurts, but Stu said he’d keep raising them to replace those lost.
Stu said the thefts also hurt the wider community who pitch in to help raise his pigs. Fish heads are brought in from fish and chip shops and others provide feed when they can.
He said the pigs weren’t much trouble to raise and tended to look after themselves.
‘‘You can rub their tummies and they’ll roll over. Sometimes they will wander off into the forest for a bit and when they come back they greet you like old friends. I have to be careful if I wander anywhere with dogs around as they all tend to follow me."