It’s “The Three Little Pigs” as you’ve never heard it.
The big bad wolf in this tale was Chilean artist Marco Evaristti, who starved three piglets as part of an art exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Evaristti denied the pigs food and water in a demonstration against Denmark’s alleged cruelty in its pig-breeding practices, according to CBS News.
“I got a lot of hate messages from around the world — I think people don’t get that my art is about animal rights,” Evaristti said of his controversial exhibit.
But despite his huffing and puffing, the story took a major turn when Evaristti realized someone had stolen his pigs — Lucia, Simon, and Benjamin.
What’s more, the artist’s own friend, Caspar Steffensen, played a part in taking them, Evaristti said on Wednesday, March 5.
“I called up police on Saturday to report the piglets stolen and I had to shut down the entire exhibition because of that — so I was very disappointed when Caspar told me on Tuesday that he was involved in the theft,” Evaristti said.
“But then I thought about it for a few hours and realized that at least this way the piglets would have a happy life,” he added.
Evaristti created the “And Now You Care” exhibit using shopping carts to form a cage for the pigs.
Should the artist face criminal charges?
The display was a protest against Denmark’s pig production farms.
Sows in the Danish pig industry reportedly birth 20 piglets at a time, according to Animal Protection Denmark, CBS News reported.
Since female pigs only have 14 teats, the piglets are forced to compete and potentially starve.
“Art.”
An activist was going to let piglets starve to death in public to make a point about factory farming.
It was “art.”
The daughter of his friend BEGGED her dad to steal the pigs so they wouldn’t die, and he did.
Wonder if her name was Fern? https://t.co/4vQ9nYL5Ei
— Kneon (@Kneon) March 6, 2025
Evidently, the protest was lost on many people, including Steffensen’s 10-year-old daughter, who begged her dad: “Make sure the piggies won’t die.”
“So when I was approached by an activist to help free the animals, I let them into the gallery secretively on Saturday,” Steffensen said.
At first he hadn’t planned on telling Evaristti, but it wasn’t a secret for long.
The animal rights group that rescued the pigs — De Glemte Danske — had posted a statement online about the operation.
Evaristti has since changed his approach to the subject.
He’s considering stealing dead piglets from a meat processing plant and displaying their carcasses to the public.
Or, he’ll buy another three piglets in hopes of selling them into a happier life.
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