I'm going to lean towards what Damaged said... if you look at this site http://www.monsterpig.com/ the size of the hog seems pretty inconsistent and the by seems rather small compared to his surroundings in the one on the first page of this thread. One of the pictures on the site everyone is clearly standing quite a ways behind the hog, perhaps trying to play that old camera trick to make it seem very large comparatively, however it is clear they are back a ways. In the one where it's hanging in again seems to change size in porportion to the boy and people in general and the hog and what appears to be a backhoe holding seem very flat as if they where cut out (either of the same picture and resized or out of another picture entirely). Anyway, thats my photo analysis, I'm studying digital design in college so Im around this stuff a lot (not that anyone cares but it may give me a slight bit of credibility?).

But really who cares if its real or not, i don't I'd rather it be real cause that be pretty cool that a hog could get that big.

As for the morality of killing it. Animals that get that large are generally very old and very unhealthy and likely in constant pain anyways, similar to the way giant people tend to be naturally unhealthy and have lots of problems in general. However I have a problem with turning it into sausage, why not taxidermy the whole thing, I guess that might be expensive but still Im sure a museum would take it and pay for it. Thats another reason why I would doubt the story, Im sure the kid shot a fairly large boar and they just told a fish story.

Anyway, the argument that hunting keeps animal populations in check does not apply in this instance since it was on a hunting preserve and no eco system was going to unbalanced by an over population within the fences.

Plus I have a huge problem with any argument that assumes law=morality. It is a far to simple way to think about anything.

As far as hunting, I don't really care, people can hunt and it does serve to keep animal populations at a balance, however it should be pointed out that this is only a problem in the first place because humans have overpopulated and over developed areas and that is why there is no room for other animals.

The only time I have a problem with hunting is when it is killing animals for a single product like tusks of fur especially when that animal is endangered, but I don't think anyone argues with that. As long as your not wiping out tons of wild animals or being wasteful then it seems within your right to hunt.

As for the kid with the big gun... eh. As long as he is instilled with the proper safety training and respect for its lethality then it seems alright. I tend to prefer that parents instill their children with respect for life and nature, however I also think this could be done while still teaching a child to hunt, however when you're hunting with a .50 caliber pistol it raises the question of why you need it. A rifle would probably do a better job and be safer, seems like an extravagance that points to a lack of respect for actual hunting and seems to say," I just like shooting **** with big guns" and the "****" here is living things, I could totally understand shooting old cars or toilets (or any other inanimate thing) with big guns... thats just good clean fun. :)