The Bahamas’ swimming pig attractions are out of control, animal rights advocates say

Not long ago, the novelty of swimming with pigs off the shore of an uninhabited Bahama island elicited squeals of delight — and selfies aplenty.

Now, copycat attractions across The Bahamas are provoking concerns about mistreatment from animal rights advocates who are calling for regulation, inspection and limits on the number of swimming swine attractions.

If Kim Aranha, president of The Bahamas Humane Society, had her way, the government would outlaw the strange endeavor altogether.

“It’s completely out of control,” Aranha said in a telephone interview. “As an animal advocate, I hate it.”

Aranha said the “swimming with pigs” phenomenon began years ago when some tourists boating through the Exuma chain noticed a group of pigs wandering around the beach of uninhabited Big Major Cay. As their boat approached, some of the pigs began swimming toward it.

“Pigs will do anything for food,” Aranha said.

She estimated that more than 20 attractions have sprung up in recent years across the island chain — each offering tourists the opportunity to wade or boat in shallow waters as pigs beg them for scraps of food.

“People are traveling from Finland and Japan to see swimming pigs,” she said. “Guys who operate boats on New Providence charge $300 to $400 to see swimming pigs and people will actually pay it so they can take pictures next to swimming pigs.”

Travel blogger stirs controversy

Earlier this month, the Bahamas Tribune published portions of a social media post and photos from a Canadian travel blogger criticizing treatment of pigs at a Freeport attraction called Celebrity Eco Adventures.

Writing on her Facebook page under the handle Kennidy From Canada, blogger Kennidy Fisher said she signed up for the excursion expecting the “beautiful and wonderful” Exuma experience she had heard about.

But at the Freeport attraction, she saw pigs corralled in a pen, exposed to wind and high seas on a narrow, unshaded cay, then tossed by employees into rough waves as the excursion boat she was in approached the shore.

“The men then went on a kayak across the water which they themselves could barely swim in, they let all the piggies out of the crate and THEN threw them in the water, IN HUGE WAVES, with current, they made these pigs swim in water and they were not allowed back on the beach every time they tried to get back onto shore, and they are fighting for their lives, and people are just trying to take photos with them, it was horrible.”

Fisher said she chose not to participate further in the excursion, which cost $30 per person. In an interview via Messenger, she said she was surprised at “how everyone there could see how unusual it was and still chose to participate.”

A woman at Celebrity Eco Adventures who answered a phone call from the South Florida Sun Sentinel seeking comment about the controversy said she would relay the request to her public relations representative.