Hogs eat their farmer in Oregon

COQUILLE, Ore. Oregon authorities are investigating how a farmer was eaten by his hogs.

Terry Vance Garner, 69, never returned after he set out to feed his animals last Wednesday on his farm near the Oregon coast, the Coos County district attorney said Monday.

A family member found Garner's dentures and pieces of his body in the hog enclosure several hours later, but most of his remains had been consumed, District Attorney Paul Frasier said. Several of the hogs weighed 700 pounds or more.

It's possible Garner had a medical emergency, such as a heart attack, or was knocked over by the animals, then killed and eaten, Frasier said, adding that at least one hog had previously bitten Garner.

The possibility of foul play is being investigated as well.

"For all we know, it was a horrific accident, but it's so doggone weird that we have to look at all possibilities," Frasier told The Register-Guard.

A pathologist was unable to identify a cause or manner of death, the newspaper reported. The remains will be examined by a forensic anthropologist at the University of Oregon.

Terry Garner was "a good-hearted guy" who cared for several huge adult sows and a boar named Teddy, said his brother, Michael Garner, 75, of Myrtle Point.

Piglets were typically sold to local 4-H kids.

"Those animals were his life," Michael Garner said. "He had all kinds of birds, and turkeys that ran all over the place. Everybody knew him."

Michael Garner said one of the large sows bit his brother last year when he accidentally stepped on a piglet.

"He said he was going to kill it, but when I asked him about it later, he said he had changed his mind," the brother said.

Domestic hogs are not typically known to be as aggressive as their feral cousins, but "there is some degree of danger associated with any animal," John Killefer, who heads the Animal and Rangeland Sciences Department at Oregon State University in Corvallis, told the newspaper.

While pigs "are more omnivorous than other farm animals, (such as) cows," Killefer called the case highly unusual.

Most hogs are raised until they reach a market weight of between 250 and 300 pounds, while breeding female pigs rarely weigh more than 400 pounds, Killefer said.

[zeppy215]

Takes all kinds of Critters to make Farmer Vincent Fritters!!

[farmgirlwi]

This was very interesting to hear. I helped my older brother to rescue our neighbor from her hogs four years ago, and yes, they would have eaten her! It was definitely NOT because she abused them, but because they had been allowed to 'clean up' animals that had died of old age and they acquired a taste for fresh meat. Hogs that have never tasted that probably would not eat a person. And, to clarify, yes hogs have sharp teeth!!!
Thankfully we were there when the hogs attacked our neighbor and all she lost was one eye and some function of an arm. It was a gruesome, freaky accident and made bacon hard for me to eat. Oh, and my brother is in the service and got a medal from the Navy for rescuing her!!

[Shar719]

FarmgirlWI I agree with your statement. In fact, I was thinking the same thing while reading this article. That pigs don't usually attack unless they have been fed meat.

[nokupps]

Heart breaking, sorry.

[nokupps]

My condolences to this family, how heat breaking. There is no need for disrespect to the farmer or his family. Small farmers are NOT in the same category as large corrupt animal processing corporations that keep their animals in tight spaces, that are only about quantity, not quality.
Small farmers/ranchers are the heart of America. They are in most cases just doing the best they can to give the animals the best life they can have, by feeding them well, watering and providing shelter from the sun and predators. YES, they are raising either for food or to sell for FFA/4H animal projects. This is how GOD intended it to be. This farmer sounds like a good man that loved animals all around him.You can still raise animals for food and be a good person. He was raised to work hard, not take easy hand outs or expect entitlements. He did not deserve to die in this manner and deserves some respect, his life counted. Please think before you make mean/hurtful posts that can continue to cause pain towards this grieving family. GOD bless this family, lift their pain and help them in this grieving process.

[tmittelstaed]

Well, there's an old meatpacking joke that they use use everything but the squeak.

Sounds like the pigs use everything but the bite!

[avgctzn50]

I think the Animal Kingdom, and maybe Nature itself, is beginning to turn on us Humans. RIP Farmer, but we probably deserve it.

[marcie10000]

This is a heartbreaking story. It's like the Deadwood episode of the grifting brother and sister. Only I pray Mr. Garner became deceased in the pen, by a heart attack (69 is pretty old) before this awful event happened. Pigs don't eat live mammals. God Bless Mr Garner and his sad and suffering family and friends. It would be nice if the smartmouth comments ceased. Thanks.

[seeingeyenavalbase]

Well said. It is regrettable that some use this tragedy to propagate their personal agendas, and make comments clever in their minds. No thought given to the family of this man these posters knew not.

[Jhihmoac]

"The possibility of foul play is being investigated as well..."

"All right, Troughmaster! Where were you on the day in question?"

[animalsarenotfood]

The man was arrogant saying he was going to kill the pig for biting him for stepping on her babies. Pigs are the most abused animals in the factory farms and no human should eat these very intelligent creatures meant to walk 9 miles a night. We have abused them for meat and our teeth are not even meat eating teeth. Meat is killing our world and all of its beautiful creatures and contributing to the starvation of the world. If we fed the starving children the grain that is used for the cows there would be no starving children. Meat is a luxury that this world can no longer afford and the Karma that is going to happen for making these creatures suffer with no remorse thinking they have no pain like us to eat their flesh is a huge sin and no person can call themselves religous a lover of God if one partakes in eating this terrible suffering inflicted by humans on these animals for their flesh. Humans eat the babies of cows and baby lambs it is disgusting. Dolphins in Japan and Dogs and Cats in China and now China is eating aborted baby fetuses.

[john92021]

animalsarenotfood, in this case humans are and pigs don't even have teeth. I have no problem with your views until the last sentence when you totally blew it. Sort of syco to think there is institutional cannibalism, for fetuses no less. Someday when there is nothing left to eat but pond scum I can visualize humans again eating each other. We are headed that way, quickly, especially with the population explosion we are having, but disease, famine, wars and lack of water should put a good dent in it soon.

[lazerbeak]

You don't have any clue do you? Human teeth (the ones up front are made for eating meat, we have eyes facing front and binocular vision for hunting (and what do we hunt....meat) and unlike plant eating animals we can't turn plant matter into protein (unless we specifically eat certain groups of matter to form a complete protein molecule). In short we do eat meat, our entire skull is designed for hunting meat, and you are just another guy with an agenda and incorrect "facts".

[hypnotoad72]

Pigging out, were they?

Crap joke aside, knowing what pigs tend to eat, I'm hard-pressed to eat anything carved out of a piggie...