A different kind of pig meat

A different kind of pig meat

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A worker grips a guinea pig around its middle as another man holds a cardboard box full of the squirming, furry rodents.

The animals are not destined to be pets. Instead, they are being handed out by the humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger to communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to be farmed for their meat.

. Karete, Democratic Republic Of Congo. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova

A young girl holds two guinea pigs that were given to her as part of a wider food and development program run by Action Against Hunger.

One of the reasons the NGO chose to distribute the rodents as livestock is that they can be reared easily by children, who are a major focus of the organisation's efforts to combat malnutrition.

Guinea pigs have other benefits as farm animals, according to the charity's outgoing deputy country director for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Petra Hoskovec. They reproduce quickly, they are easy to take care of and they are cheap, so the NGO can distribute them to a larger number of people.

The advantages do not stop there: “In an area with frequent attacks by armed groups on the local population, guinea pigs are less likely to make families a target of pillaging than are other larger, more valuable livestock such as chickens or goats,” said Hoskovec in an email to Reuters.

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Workers put guinea pigs in a box as they prepare to distribute the animals.
. Bunyakiri, Democratic Republic of Congo. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova

Workers put guinea pigs in a box as they prepare to distribute the animals.

The rodents swarm together in the back of a truck.
. Bunyakiri, Democratic Republic of Congo. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova

The rodents swarm together in the back of a truck.

Guinea pigs nibble on pieces of grass as charity workers prepare to transport them.
. Bunyakiri, Democratic Republic Of Congo. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova

Guinea pigs nibble on pieces of grass as charity workers prepare to transport them.

Action Against Hunger workers hand out the animals. They ask the people receiving them to leave their fingerprints instead of a signature.
. KARETE, Democratic Republic of Congo. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova

Action Against Hunger workers hand out the animals. They ask the people receiving them to leave their fingerprints instead of a signature.

Members of the Karete community queue up as they wait to be given the guinea pigs. Most of the people who came to collect the rodents were women with their children.
. KARETE, Democratic Republic of Congo. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova

Members of the Karete community queue up as they wait to be given the guinea pigs. Most of the people who came to collect the rodents were women with their children.

One of the animals is placed in a woman's basket.
. Bunyakiri, Democratic Republic Of Congo. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova

One of the animals is placed in a woman's basket.

Locals crowd around to receive guinea pigs and seeds.
. Karete, Democratic Republic of Congo. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova

Locals crowd around to receive guinea pigs and seeds.