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And what would summertime be without another global pandemic? "The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) of Hong Kong Special Administration Region announced on Wednesday that two pig samples taken in a flu virus test were positive for H1N1, but no significant genetic reassortment of viruses was found. The result came from a regular influenza virus surveillance in pigs conducted by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) at Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse from February to April. Under the program, pigs at the slaughterhouse were tested by blood, tracheal and nasal swabs twice a month. A CFS spokesman said given the wide transmission of the pandemic H1N1 virus in humans, detection of the virus in pigs would not be a surprise. It was expected that positive findings might appear from time to time in the surveillance program in future. The spokesman said that all imported live pigs from the Chinese mainland must come from registered farms and be accompanied with animal health certificates issued by the Chinese mainland authorities." [Xinhua] more ›

Thought that story of the human milk-producing cows was creepy? Now wait till you hear this one! more ›

Three years ago, Belgian artist Wim Delvoye's tattooed Louis Vuitton pigs were banned from more ›

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UPDATE: The pigs have been banned from the art show. more ›

Although it sounds like a particularly weird chapter of "Journey To The West", we are assured that this Pig with the face of a Monkey is a real animal. Born to freaked out farmers in the small town of Fengzhang, the freaky swine has shot to the top of the tourist attractions in Shanxi Province. more ›

A pig who survived for 36 days after the Sichuan earthquake on May 12 has been heralded as a hero and symbol of the will to stay alive. The pig, who has since been named "Zhu Jianqiang" or "Strongwill Pig," managed to live on a diet of charcoal and water while buried under rubble. It was discovered last week in Pengzhou city, having lost two-thirds of its weight and now "thin as a goat," a witness told Xinhua. The pig has since been bought by the local Jianchuan Museum for 3,008 yuan and will be kept as a "living symbol of the earthquake disaster." more ›

The space station, the Olympic pigs and white-collar wages Shanghaiist scans thousands of China headlines every single day, and believe us, we do want to believe all the news we read here in China, but every now and then, we come across something that makes us remind ourselves to take EVERYTHING we read with a great pinch of salt, no matter how authoritative the source may sound. Just yesterday, for instance, China Daily reported that... more ›

“Above is heaven, below is Hangzhou", as the Chinese saying goes (上有天堂，下有苏杭), but if you're unfortunate enough to be a wild boar in the lake-endowed city, you may find yourself snuffling up to the big trough in the sky sooner than you hoped. Yes, after indiscriminate killing so effectively solved the feral dog and water logged rat infestations China has suffered of late, open season has been declared on Hangzhou's tuskiest residents. Apparently, the not-so-wee... more ›