Belgian artist identified as Wim Delvoye is causing a lot of controversy by tattooing pigs and selling their hides as works of art for as high as $70,000. Oddity Central has more:
Delvoye first started practicing his bizarre art in 1997, but soon had to move his business to China, where animal welfare laws were less strict. But despite the claims of animal activists, the artist has always claimed his pigs at his farm are treated humanely and are only inked under anesthesia.
These special pigs are inked with a variety of designs including Disney characters, Louis Vuitton logos, and even patterns that are popular with Russian prison inmates. Three artists work simultaneously on each pig, and their skin is later massaged and moisturised by carers. Once the pigs reach the end of their lives, their skins are sold to collectors for tens of thousands of dollars. One canvas featuring Disney characters, for example, was sold to Chanel and made into two bags.
