Babe Star James Cromwell Helps Save a Real Baby Pig from Slaughter, Names the Abandoned

In a heartfelt example of life imitating art, “Babe” star James Cromwell is helping save a real baby big from being slaughtered. Cromwell serves as an honorary director at PETA and is working with the animal rights organization to transfer a piglet to the Indraloka Animal Sanctuary after it fell off a truck that was transporting it to be fattened for slaughter.

According to PETA, the abandoned piglet was found “scraped, bruised and covered in mud” when he was rescued shortly before the Easter holiday weekend. Cromwell met the piglet virtually (see photo below) and named him Babe, a nod to his films “Babe” (1995) and “Babe: Pig in the City” (1998). Cromwell starred in the franchise as Arthur Hoggett, a farmer who becomes the father of the eponymous orphaned pig.

“Having had the privilege of witnessing and experiencing pigs’ intelligence and inquisitive personalities while filming, the movie ‘Babe’ changed my life and my way of eating, and so I jumped at the chance to save this real-life Babe,” Cromwell said in a statement. “Every pig deserves to live in peace and joy at a sanctuary, choosing when to frolic, where to forage and how to spend their time, yet few do.”

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Per PETA: “In the meat industry, which slaughters 129 million pigs every year, their tails are chopped off, their teeth are cut with pliers, and the males are castrated — all without painkillers. At the slaughterhouse, they’re hung upside down and bled to death.”

Babe will soon be transferred to the Indraloka Animal Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, where he will join many other rescue animals such as alpacas, chickens and cows at the nearly 100-acre center. Anyone interested in contributing to Babe’s lifetime care can support the sanctuary here.

Both “Babe” films were written by “Mad Max” director George Miller, who helmed “Pig in the City” himself. The 1995 “Babe” was directed by Chris Noonan and earned seven Academy Award nominations, including best picture. Cromwell was nominated for best supporting actor.

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Update: 2024-03-14

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