In the summer of 2012, Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter opened their Toronto home to what they thought would be just a “teacup” or “micro” Pig. They named their new baby Esther, and she grew to be over 260 kg.
Her addition to their family and her hundreds of thousands of online followers led to the creation of the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary in Ontario, where rescued farmed animals are provided with a safe, lifelong home.
On 18 October 2023, Esther took her last breath. Her death was peaceful; she was asleep and beside her dad, Steve. But the loss of the world’s beloved “pigfluencer” sent shockwaves throughout animal-loving communities across the globe.
There is no denying the large impact that Esther had on Steve and Derek: Because of her, they decided to pursue an Esther-approved lifestyle. (Chewy.com)
NOT MICRO AT ALL
In a Facebook post uploaded on 4 December 2015, Esther’s dads recounted the day they met her: “As far as we knew, Esther was a ‘mini Pig’, and as you can see it was easy to believe that to be true.” Their post was accompanied by a photo of Esther hours after they adopted her; she was a tiny Pig with painted nails and a pink collar with rhinestones around her neck.
When her veterinarian told them she was a commercial Pig, the type one would see in factory farms, Steve and Derek had to reevaluate their entire lives. This meant finding a new home that would allow animals of Esther’s size and nature (hooved), and eventually living what they call an “Esther Approved” lifestyle: a vegan one.
“She was supposed to be bacon,” they wrote. Esther was “just a [P]ig who was given a chance to show somebody how special she really was.” Together, Esther and her family helped put a face to factory farming, encouraging fans both on- and offline to fight speciesism and choose compassion.
This Facebook post marks the day that Esther met her dads Steve and Derek. (Facebook)
A WELL-LIVED LIFE
According to animal sanctuary Dean Farm Trust, the natural lifespan of Pigs is around 10 to 15 years. However, commercial Pigs reared for slaughter are typically killed for their meat at only five months.
At 11 years old, Esther lived much longer than she would’ve if she had not met her dads. Over the past few years, she had already experienced several health scares, including breast cancer.
The CBC reported that in 2018, she beat breast cancer after a three-and-a-half hour operation to remove four masses from her mammary glands and two lymph nodes. A team at the Ontario Veterinary College ensured she could go back home healthy the day after her operation.
All of this was made possible by her legions of fans, who raised over $750,000 to purchase a CT scanner large enough to fit a Pig like Esther. It was the first of its kind in Canada, and it would benefit not just Esther, but all other animals like her in the country. Extra funds from the campaign were set aside for a medical fund for other animal sanctuaries.
Once the CT scanner was acquired, Esther’s dads then needed to find vets who could operate on her. Steve said, “It’s not very often that someone shows up there and says ‘Hey, I’ve got a 656-pound pig with breast cancer I need you to fix.’”
As the CBC writes, Esther was an “unusual pet.” She was what was considered a “non- traditional pet,” and this label came with a whole host of issues for those who cared for Esther, who, like other rescued animals at the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary, needed access to medications and therapies that need special permissions.
Animals seen as food are rarely treated as pets, and Esther’s dads needed to navigate government regulations to get the treatment Esther needed.
At the time, Steve told the CBC, “We just want the regulations to be reviewed and to be clarified and account for non-traditional companion animals.” Esther’s parents never stopped fighting for her.
After Esther’s bout with breast cancer, she battled arthritis, which caused a decline in her health over the past year. She passed away in her beloved sunroom, featured in many of her posts online.
(Esther the Wonder Pig | Instagram)
THE REASON SO MANY SMILED
Esther’s Instagram is home to over 11,000 posts. In many of them, she wears a wig, a crown, some sort of accessory. Sometimes, she isn’t alone; she’s with one or both of her dads, her grandma, or her furry and feathered siblings. In almost all of her photos, she has her mouth open wide in a smile.
The description on Esther’s social media pages says, “Be the reason someone smiles.”
For 11 years, she was the reason so many of her hundreds of thousands of followers smiled, if only for a few seconds each day. She became every commercial Pig’s unofficial ambassador, showing that Pigs could be just as intelligent, affectionate, and kind as more “traditional” nonhuman animal companions.
Though Esther is no longer with us, living an Esther-approved lifestyle is still possible.
In a November article by Vox, Steve said Esther’s followers “knew what she was, they knew where she came from.” To people who cared about Esther and chose to give up bacon, “it was no longer just pork — it was somebody, it was Esther.”
(Esther the Wonder Pig | Instagram)
MICROPIGS: REAL OR FAKE?
When Esther’s dads first met her, they were told she was a micropig, also known as a mini or “teacup” Pig. They soon learned she was a commercial sow.
While tiny Pigs have grown in popularity as pets over the past two decades, the truth is the tiny Pigs sold as “teacup” or micropigs are very rarely bred to be tiny and are just baby commercial Pigs that end up growing as big as Esther. Those that are bred to be tiny Pigs develop medical issues that shorten their lifespans.
HOW TINY PIGS ARE MARKETED
According to US- based Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization with an extensive online resource center, breeders of tiny Pigs tend to show off the Pig’s parents to prove they come from a family of tiny Pigs.
In reality, the parent Pigs are often as young as four months when they are bred, and they don’t reach maturity until they’re three to five years old.
HOW TINY PIGS ARE MAINTAINED
When tiny Pigs are sold, buyers are often given strict instructions to have their Pigs follow a specific diet. Unfortunately, this diet is typically meant to keep the Pig malnourished and tiny for as long as possible, stunting their growth and laying the groundwork for future medical issues.
“Teacup” Pigs are usually not genetically small Pigs; they happen to be babies who will soon grow a lot bigger, just like Esther.
