Questions Asked and Now Answered:

These are some of the questions and concerns posted on the RWHA Facebook page that I was able to gather prior to the thread being deleted. ~ I am, in all things, transparent and forth-right and while I don’t believe in “airing dirty laundry”, I do believe in answering questions and correcting misconceptions. To that end, I have left the angry rhetoric and mockery in the delete queue and attempted to address questions and concerns.

  • Why do you gate-keep your registry.
    • I have to guess you are either talking about the password on the pedigree database or the private chat group, so I’ll answer both.
      • The database is password protected to try to help keep the bots down as they can skew statistics and eat resources.  There is a default guest password provided that allows up to 50 searches.
      • Red Wattle Pigs Plus.Org (RWPP) has two Facebook groups.  The first is a private group chat for owners of pigs registered with RWPP so we can discuss any business that needs discussion without input from individuals who are not engaged with the organization.
        • We also have an open chat for people who are interested in learning about what we are doing on any level that does not have any requirements to join or lurk.

  • Why do I think I should use the RWHA platform to advertise my list?
    • I don’t and I haven’t.
      • The now-deleted post regarding the RWPP was an official communication by the Board of Directors of the RWHA.

  • Why shouldn’t I be removed/banned?
    • I haven’t taken any action to merit such consequences.
    • (* although I have since left the association and no longer support them with my resources or registrations of my stock.)

  • Do you feel it’s responsible after months of RW experience, and hogs, to anoint yourself the leader of a registry.
    • Yes.
      • It’s true I haven’t been raising and breeding hogs as long as I have other stock, but I’ve been involved in breeding preservation stock since the mid-80’s and have been living and working on this farm since 1994.
        • The implication in the question is that I’ve only had red wattle pigs for a few months. The truth is that I’ve been dealing with unregistered and cross-bred stock for years and wanted to up my commitment to the red wattle by transitioning to purebred, registered stock.
      • I have a solid working knowledge of livestock husbandry and genetics.
      • I am open to education, learning, adjusting, am willing to reach out to mentors as needed, and willing to listen when they reach out to me.

  • I am asked to comment on the damage I am creating by further dividing and souring the energy of the RWHA and multiple comments about me working against the association.
    • I am not damaging, dividing, or souring the energy of the RWHA.
      • I am (*was) deeply invested in the future of RWHA, emotionally, intellectually and financially.
    • Damage and division was caused by the now-deleted official RWHA post, which grotesquely applied negative energy to my positive efforts.

  • This question is oddly worded but I think it is asking why I don’t contribute and why I feel I can’t work within RWHA to create a cohesive/positive direction for red wattle hogs.
    • I do (*) contribute and am actively working within the constraints of the RWHA Bylaws, rules and guidelines to effect change that I feel is in the best interest of the breed.
    • * those efforts were to no avail. With that association going in directions I could not agree with or effect positive change, I made the choice to focus my 100% of my resources with RWPP.

  • There appears to be a great deal of concern about the RWPP “lack” of standards.
    • RWPP physical standards are similar but different to RWHA and actually more strict in some ways.
      • We register only visually red pigs
        • We do allow minimal, anomalous markings
      • We require photos of the pig, it’s offspring and a discussion with the owner prior to registering an undocumented animal
    • We also rely on owner/breeder integrity and discretion.
      • I can’t write rules for a farmer 1000 miles away standing in the field beside his hog that will tell them the quality of that hog — if they are manageable, if their produce has a great growth rate and is delicious.  I understand that genetics are more than phenotype and with discussion could possibly accept an anomalous sow who produces better than herself.
    • The main area where RWHA and RWPP standards differ is in the level of documentation required for registration.
      • We have no membership criteria,
      • We have no age criteria.
      • We do not require pre-existing documentation for a hog to submit a request for registration.

  • There was a comment about substandard genes being reintroduced into a well working system.
    • That’s not possible.
      • RWPP is not registering substandard genetics.

  • There are multiple individuals expressing concern about my financial well-being, and the financial well-being of “a small group of individuals”.
    • There is no “small group of individuals”
      • It’s just me.
    • There are NO FEES associated with RWPP.
      • No membership fees
      • No registration fees
      • No transfer fees
        • There is absolutely no financial benefit to owning RWPP.
        • Money flows out, not in.
          • It costs me time and money to run this and I do it without any expectation of compensation.
          • I do this in order to help preserve and promote red wattle hogs.

  • Multiple individuals expressed concern regarding competitive registries.
    • We are cooperative, not competitive.
      • While we accept hogs with RWHA registration, we also accept many that can’t be registered with RWHA.
      • The primary purpose of RWPP is to document hogs with the proper phenotype and genotype that cannot be registered with RWHA due to lack of documentation.

  • Addressing the comment (not in the form of a question) about a “better” organization without feedback.
    • We are different and we are better. We have transparency and an active owners group allowing owners to participate in the business of running the registry.
    • While many of the hogs overlap, many also do not.
    • While many of our standards overlap, many do not.
    • I am completely open to feedback and have ongoing, open dialogue with owners of RWPP registered pigs.
      • What I don’t have are the constraints caused by the ebb and flow of personalities and biases brought on by a  changing/unchanging membership and board.

  • You’ve read all this and still have questions.