In another episode of things I wish I never discovered about our food system and supply, a California trapper has uncovered a number of pigs sporting “slushie blue” fatty tissue. In something that is better suited for the makings of a sci-fi flick, one pig turned into many, prompting a full-scale investigation by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and what they found was disturbing to say the least.
It all started back in March of this year when Dan Burton, a trapper with Urban Trapping Wildlife Control, was working a commercial farm near the Salinas River when he stumbled across this neon nightmare. The pigs he was pulling from the traps had fat that looked like it belonged in a rave, not a ribcage. Suspecting something was seriously off, Burton pinged the guys and gals over at CDFW, who ran tests and confirmed the culprit: diphacinone, an anticoagulant rodenticide, laced in the pigs’ stomach and liver. The Slurpee-blue hue? That apparently came from dyed oats in ground squirrel bait stations, which these pigs were scarfing down like it was their last meal on the planet (it was).
Fast forward to July, and the CDFW finally dropped a warning that’s got hunters and wild game enthusiasts sweating. According to officials, it’s not only the pigs we ought to worry about, it’s also deer, bears, geese and anything else that might be roaming near urban or agricultural zones that could end up packing this toxic glow-up. Only one pig got the full lab treatment, but multiple carcasses were rocking the blue look, suggesting this is not a one-off. Worse, the CDFW says you might not even spot the Smurf-like tint in contaminated meat as they say it doesn’t always present itself in affected animals.
"Hunters should be aware that the meat of game animals, such as wild pig, deer, bear and geese, might be contaminated if that game animal has been exposed to rodenticides," CDFW Pesticide Investigations Coordinator Dr. Ryan Bourbour said in a news release.
This whole mess ties back to our love affair with rodenticides. A 2018 study the CDFW dug up shows 8.3% of wild pigs and a staggering 83% of black bears in California have been exposed to this stuff, but thankfully mule deer seem to have somehow dodged the bullet. But the point is, we’re slathering these chemicals across farms and suburbs, and wildlife is paying the price. And if things keep going this way, we’re next in line.
I’m out.
And while the Monterey farm swapped out their bait stations for tamper-proof ones after the blue pig fiasco, it’s not enough reason for any of us to let out a sigh of relief. This “show of force” is nothing but a Band-Aid on a wound that’s honestly been festering for years.
The CDFW’s advice? If you’re slinging pesticides, use secure bait stations and don’t dump poison where critters roam. Hunters, keep your eyes peeled for anything weird in your game and most definitely hit up the Wildlife Health Lab if you spot it.
Fortunately, no new reports of blue meat have popped up since March, but that’s cold comfort when you’re wondering if your next bite of boar (or deer or bear) is spiked with rat poison. Maybe it’s time we rethink how we handle pests before the whole ecosystem starts looking like a bad EDM festival.
