there wouldn’t even be any wild hogs except we pen up so many pigs to eat

[meliss]

Hi, I do not understand what she's trying to say... Wild hogs exist whether we pen up other pigs or not, don't they? Thank you.
"Katrina ... refused to hunt on moral grounds. She was, she told Colin..., a vegetarian. “I think it’s right criminal,” Katrina said of hog hunting. “Although those pigs are sort of horrible. But there wouldn’t even be any wild hogs except we pen up so many pigs to eat.” (Abundance of Katherines by John Green)

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes. Some people are ignorant.

 

[meliss]

Yes. Some people are ignorant.

Do you mean the heroine or the author?

 

[SoothingDave]

I meant this "Katrina." I guess it depends on the context. There are certainly wild hogs that exist separate from humans. Certainly in Europe.

In the Americas, the animal was not native, but brought when the Europeans came.

 

[probus]

I believe wild boars, which exist in both Europe and Asia, are a distinct species from the domestic hogs that have gone feral in America. For one thing the wild species has tusks, which domestic swine lack. Also the wild boar is aggressive, attacking and killing people every year, while domestic swine are more docile. I once crossed paths with a wild boar while hiking in India. Fortunately he went about his business and paid me no heed.

 

[andrewg927]

I once crossed paths with a wild boar while hiking in India. Fortunately he went about his business and paid me no heed.

Lucky you.

 

[andrewg927]

Hi, I do not understand what she's trying to say... Wild hogs exist whether we pen up other pigs or not, don't they? Thank you.

Katrina is against hog hunting and she seems to think the wild hogs will become extinct if we continue the hunting. Really I wouldn't want to judge her. She might be right. I am all for hunting but excessive hunting can wreak havoc on any kind of animal's population.

 

[meliss]

... she seems to think the wild hogs will become extinct if we continue the hunting. ...

Does she? It is rather different: " there wouldn’t even be any wild hogs except we pen up so many pigs to eat".

 

[andrewg927]

What is your question exactly?

 

[meliss]

What is your question exactly?

The same: is she trying to say (as it seems), that there is a connection between growing pigs for eating and the very existence of the wild hogs? If so, she is completely wrong, isn't she?

 

[GoesStation]

Yes.

 

[andrewg927]

Yes.

Yes to what?

 

[andrewg927]

The same: is she trying to say (as it seems), that there is a connection between growing pigs for eating and the very existence of the wild hogs? If so, she is completely wrong, isn't she?

She thinks hog hunting can deplete the animal's wild population. She also thinks that we kill so many pigs for food already and there is no need to kill more hogs in the wild. She is not wrong in the sense that she is against killing wild hogs. Wild hogs do exist whether we eat domestic pigs but excessive hunting can make a dent in their population.