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BEIJING - A CHINESE man who bought an emaciated pig which survived for 36 days after the Sichuan earthquake and promised to care for it for life has been given an award by an animal rights group.
The pig, pinned in his sty after the quake in May, was bought by local curator Fan Jianchuan who was moved by its ordeal and named it Zhu Jianqiang, or Strong Pig.
It had survived by eating charcoal and drinking rainwater.
'Thanks to Fan Jianchuan, Zhu Jianqiang's miraculous struggle to live was not in vain,' People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) director Jason Baker said.
'Zhu Jianqiang has shown beyond a doubt that pigs, including the billions which are killed for food, have the same overwhelming will to survive...I hope that people who hear this story will do something for pigs, too, by not eating them.'
Meanwhile, hundreds of prisoners who survived the quake have had their jail terms reduced as a reward for heroic actions during the disaster.
One prisoner, who was due to be released in 2011 after spending 20 years in jail for murder, was set free recently on probation.
The man, a 43-year-old surnamed Hong, remained in his cell when the quake struck in order to save a disabled prisoner.
The China Daily said eight other prisoners had also been released early for the 'courage they showed in saving life and property' during and after the disaster. A further 436 prisoners had their jail terms cut.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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