Tamworth Two
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The Tamworth Two were a pair of
pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...
s that escaped while being unloaded from a lorry at an
abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...
in the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
town of
Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
in January 1998. The pigs (later named Butch and Sundance after ''
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch C ...
'') were on the run for more than a week, and the search for them caused a huge media sensation, as well as immense public interest, both in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and abroad.


Events

Butch (a sow) and Sundance (a boar) were sister and brother Tamworth pigs. Both were five months old when their owner took them by lorry to V & G Newman's Abattoir in Malmesbury on 8 January 1998. Just after they were unloaded from the truck, the two pigs escaped by squeezing through a fence and swimming across the River Avon, escaping into nearby gardens. The two pigs spent most of their week of freedom in a dense thicket near Tetbury Hill. As the story of their escape broke, media interest in the escaped pigs soared across the country, the press dubbing the pair "Butch and Sundance" after the American outlaws. The American
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
network and several Japanese media outlets were among the international media to show a great interest in the story and to send reporters to cover the tale. The BBC reported on 16 January 1998: "Among nearly 100 journalists on the trail of the bolshy porker was NBC reporter Donatella Lorch, filming for Friday night's American news
ho said Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to: People Language and ethnicity * Ho people, an ethnic group of India ** Ho language, a tribal language in India * Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam * Hiri M ...
‘These pigs have become celebrities €¦The British reaction to the whole thing is what has caught our attention and after all, we are the makers of ''
Babe Babe or babes may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People Nickname * Babe Adams (1882–1968), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Babe Barna (1917–1972), American Major L ...
''’". The pigs were estimated to be worth £40–50 each, and their owner, Arnoldo Dijulio, a council road sweeper, stated that he still intended to send the pair to slaughter should they be recaptured. After making this statement, Dijulio was offered large sums of money by media outlets and animal lovers to save the pigs from the dinner table. Eventually, the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' newspaper bought the pigs from Dijulio in return for exclusive rights to their story. Butch was eventually captured on the evening of 15 January, when she and Sundance were spotted foraging in the garden of a local couple, Harold and Mary Clarke. Sundance escaped into the thicket once again, but he was flushed out the next day by two springer spaniels and tranquilised with a dart gun.
RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...
Inspector Mike Harley said, "He had a very thick skin and two darts bounced off him". Sundance was taken to a
veterinary surgery Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...
where the vet who examined him, Fran Baird, said: "He is a little bit shaky but doesn't appear to be any the worse for it. I am quite confident he will make a full recovery." He also said that Sundance would be spending the weekend at the surgery but that precautions had been taken to ensure he did not escape once more: "There are padlocks on the doors, which are more than six feet high and chained together. He's obviously quite bright. He's foxed a number of people for a number of days. I don't want to spend another day chasing around Malmesbury". Afterwards, it was discovered that Sundance was a crossbreed and that one of his parents had been a
wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
, possibly explaining his rebellious temperament. The Tamworth Two even attracted observations in Parliament: ex-opposition Environment spokesman
George Howarth Sir George Edward Howarth (born 29 June 1949) is a British Labour Party politician who serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Knowsley. He also served the seat's predecessors since being elected in a by-election in 1986, firstly as the ...
compared the pair’s flight with that of the Conservative Party.''
Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official print ...
'' (16 January 1998)
House of Commons debate: Referendum (English Parliament) Bill
col. 655. accessdate=2 March 2015
In June 2004, a campaign was launched to create a statue in Malmesbury to commemorate the Tamworth Two, together with a sculpture trail along the River Avon. The two pigs lived – courtesy of the ''Daily Mail'' – at the Rare Breeds Centre, an animal sanctuary near
Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...
in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. In 2009, readers of ''
Press Gazette ''Press Gazette'', formerly known as ''UK Press Gazette'' (UKPG), is a British media trade magazine dedicated to journalism and the press. First published in 1965, it had a circulation of about 2,500, before becoming online-only in 2013. Publis ...
'' voted the Daily Mail’s coverage of the Tamworth Two 25th in a list of "the best British journalism scoops of all time". In March 2004, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported a former ''Daily Mail'' executive as saying: "It may seem like a fun animal story, but at the time it was deadly serious. It was the most important story of the week – by far". The same report added: "It had become impossible to avoid the story. A contributor to Radio 4's ''Thought for the Day'' mused over them; the editor of ''The Independent'', Andrew Marr, wrote about them in his letter to the readers. They even featured in an editorial in ''The Guardian''". The story of the Tamworth Two has been retold in media coverage of other animal escapes, including in December 2001 when a turkey escaped from a farm and walked three miles to a bird sanctuary and April 2009, when 180 pigs escaped from the lorry taking them to the Malton Bacon Factory in
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
after it was involved in an accident.


Deaths

Butch died aged 13 on 8 October 2010, euthanised after becoming seriously ill. Davy McColm, manager of the centre's farm, put Butch’s demise down to old age. He added:
"Sundance seems to be quite happy with life at the moment. He's got a bit more space in the bed at night. He will be missing her. They were litter brother and sister, they've been together all their lives. He's an old fellow, he's a little bit arthritic and a bit slower than he used to be – thank goodness – but he's still pottering along".
At the time of Butch’s death, the centre was still receiving enquiries about the Tamworth Two. Seven months later, Sundance, aged 14, suffering from arthritis, and "much quieter" after his sister's death, was euthanised on 23 May 2011. Commenting on Sundance’s death, Nikki Sara from the Rare Breeds Centre said: "He was getting old and was having trouble getting in and out of his bed. He was on the maximum dosage of pain killers and the farm manager decided that it wasn't fair on him". Talking about the Tamworth Two, she said: "They've been a great attraction here for the last 13 years, a real draw. We still get people coming in asking where they are".


Television movie

In 2003, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
produced and broadcast a 60-minute drama ''The Legend of the Tamworth Two'' where contrary to the truth, "Butch" was male, "Sundance", female. Executive producer Sally Woodward told the BBC:
"The film tells how the story of Butch and Sundance became a legend, of how Britain once again took the underdog to their hearts – or in this instance, the under-pig – and in the process briefly made them the most famous fugitives in the world. It also shows how contrary human beings are in their relationship with animals – how we are only too happy to tuck in to a pork chop, but are outraged when we want to capture a pig that has stolen our heart".


See also

*
List of individual pigs This is a list of notable pigs. General Arnold Arnold was the Ziffels' pet pig on the TV sitcom ''Green Acres''. He would perform anthropomorphic activities such as coming uninvited into the Douglas home, turning on the television and watching ...


References

; General * O'Neill, Sean
Swimming boars save their bacon
''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'', 14 January 1998 * O'Neill, Sean
Pig knocks the stuffing out of police
''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'', 16 January 1998
Happy ever after for Butch and Sundance?
''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'', 16 January 1998. * O'Neill, Sean
Dart stops Sundance pig in his tracks
''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'', 17 January 1998
Tamworth Two pig tale on film
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
, 26 August 2003.


External links


BBC – The Legend of the Tamworth Two homepage

''The Legend of the Tamworth Two'' on IMDB

Rare Breeds Centre
– current home of Sundance
Death of Butch reported by the BBC
{{Impossible Pictures 1998 in England Animal deaths by euthanasia History of Wiltshire Individual animals in England Individual pigs Malmesbury Missing or escaped animals