Jason Unrau
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Joining Arctic Farmer's stable of animals in May were three little pigs, brought back to Yellowknife from Vulcan, Alberta by the landscaping company's Ricky Boucher and Darwin Rudkevitch.

"We were going down there for a lobster party and talked about getting some pigs," said Boucher. "We made a few calls and found these weeners."

Called weeners because they no longer rely on their mother's milk, rather than for the similarly spelled food they could become, Boucher said none of them have been given names.

"We usually don't name the things we eat," added Boucher. "Well, we do call the red one Jill but that's after a friend of ours with red hair."

But sharing the same name as a pig, is not as bad as being a pig. Come September Boucher hopes each porker to be between 120 and 130lbs, and prime for roasting.

In the meantime, these three critters will eat and delight the many children who stop to gander at the farm animals.

"People like to come and have a look, lots of kids seem to enjoy it," Boucher said. "There's not a lot of farm animals up (in Yellowknife) to see."

Along with the pigs, Arctic Farmer has hens, turkeys, chickens and goats.

If you're the animal variety that doesn't lay eggs or have goat horns, your destiny is the supper table.

"The goats are really the only animals that are more pets than livestock," said Boucher. "We'll use the turkeys for Thanksgiving and the pigs for a pig roast."