Urgent warning as pigs discovered with 'neon blue' flesh that may be poisonous

Dan Burton, owner of Urban Trapping Wildlife Control, raised the alarm after cutting open a pig for a client in Salinas.

He was shocked to uncover the pig's flesh was not just 'a little blue' but was 'neon blue, blueberry blue' and immediately informed Monterey County and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Meat eaters have now been warned by official to not eat infected meat, while hunters and trappers have been instructed to remain vigilant about possibly contaminated wildlife in the area.

They believe the pigs may have been exposed to anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone, a poison often used by farmers to kill animals including rats, mice, voles and squirrels.

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Ryan Bourbor, pesticide investigations coordinator at the the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told The LA Times: “Hunters should be aware that the meat of game animals, such as wild pig, deer, bear and geese, might be contaminated if that game animal has been exposed to rodenticides."

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said it first learned of the pigs’ potential exposure to rat poison in March, after a trapper in Monterey County reported several animals with blue-tinged muscle and fat.

Tests conducted by the agency’s Wildlife Health Laboratory later detected the rat poison in the stomach and liver of one pig, according to an official statement.

Rodent poisons are typically dyed for identification, and the pigs’ blue flesh suggests they may have ingested the toxin themselves or eaten prey that had been contaminated.

Officials also warn that the blue colouring may not always be present in animals that have been exposed.

Mr Burton conducted his own investigation to uncover how the pigs had consumed the rat poison and said he believed they had been interacting with squirrel bait stations.

He said: "These pigs were seeking [the bait traps] out. I saw them trying to flip it over, breaking them, trying to get access to the poison.”

iphacinone is largely banned in California, except when applied by a certified vector control technician, a government agency, or at approved agricultural sites, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

The restriction took effect in 2024 under a law designed to protect wildlife from exposure to the toxic substance.

The agency asks anyone who comes across an animal with blue fat or tissue to contact officials at whlab@wildlife.ca.gov or (916) 358-2790.