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Tamworth Two

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The Tamworth Two at their sanctuary in 2010

TheTamworth Twowere a pair ofpigsthat escaped while being unloaded from a lorry at anabattoirin theEnglishtown ofMalmesbury,Wiltshirein January 1998. The pigs (later named Butch and Sundance afterButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) 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 inBritainand abroad.

Events

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Butch (a sow) and Sundance (a boar) were sister and brotherTamworthpigs. 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 theRiver 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 AmericanNBCnetwork 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 thebolshy porkerwas NBC reporter Donatella Lorch, filming for Friday night's American news [who said]: ‘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 ofBabe’ ".[1]

The pigs were estimated to be worth £40–50 each, and their owner, Arnoldo Dijulio, a council road sweeper,[1]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, theDaily Mailnewspaper 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 twospringer spanielsand tranquilised with a dart gun.RSPCAInspector Mike Harley said, "He had a very thick skin and two darts bounced off him".[1]Sundance was taken to aveterinary surgerywhere 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".[1]Afterwards, it was discovered that Sundance was a crossbreed and that one of his parents had been awild boar,possibly explaining his rebellious temperament.[1]

The Tamworth Two even attracted observations in Parliament: ex-opposition Environment spokesmanGeorge Howarthcompared the pair’s flight with that of the Conservative Party.[2]

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.[3]

The two pigs lived – courtesy of theDaily Mail– at theRare Breeds Centre,an animal sanctuary nearAshfordinKent.In 2009, readers ofPress Gazettevoted the Daily Mail’s coverage of the Tamworth Two 25th in a list of "the best British journalism scoops of all time".[4][5]In March 2004,The Guardianreported a formerDaily Mailexecutive 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'sThought for the Daymused over them; the editor ofThe Independent,Andrew Marr, wrote about them in his letter to the readers. They even featured in an editorial inThe Guardian".[6]

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[7]and April 2009, when 180 pigs escaped from the lorry taking them to the Malton Bacon Factory inYorkafter it was involved in an accident.[8]

Deaths

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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.[9]

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".[10]

Television movie

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Filming ofThe Legend of the Tamworth Two

In 2003, theBBCproduced and broadcast a 60-minute dramaThe Legend of the Tamworth Twowhere 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".[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcde"Happy ever after for Butch and Sundance?".BBC News.16 January 1998.Retrieved2 March2015.
  2. ^Hansard(16 January 1998).House of Commons debate: Referendum (English Parliament) Bill,col. 655. accessdate=2 March 2015
  3. ^"Sculpture plan for 'Tamworth Two'".www.bbc.co.uk.14 June 2004.Retrieved2 March2015.
  4. ^Wilson, Richard (12 October 2012)."25. British journalism's greatest ever scoops: The Tamworth Two (Daily Mail, 1998)".www.pressgazette.co.uk.Retrieved3 March2015.
  5. ^Ponsford, Dominic (12 October 2012)."British journalism's greatest ever scoops".www.pressgazette.co.uk.Retrieved3 March2015.
  6. ^Morris, Steven (1 March 2004)."A crackling good yarn".The Guardian.London.Retrieved3 March2015.
  7. ^Perrone, Jane (10 December 2001)."Animal causes célèbres: where are they now?".The Guardian.London.Retrieved3 March2015.
  8. ^"Pigs escape when lorry crashes yards from slaughterhouse".Daily Telegraph.London. 24 April 2009.Retrieved3 March2015.
  9. ^"Tamworth Two become one as Butch passes away".www.bbc.co.uk.9 October 2010.Retrieved2 March2015.
  10. ^"The last of the 'Tamworth Two' pigs dies at age 14".www.bbc.co.uk.23 May 2011.Retrieved2 March2015.
  11. ^"Tamworth Two pig tale on film".www.bbc.co.uk.26 August 2003.Retrieved2 March2015.
General
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