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Obese skunk put on vegetarian diet to battle bacon addiction

A pet skunk in the U.K. weighs double his ideal weight after years of enjoying an unhealthy diet of bacon sandwiches.
By Stephanie RogersWed, Sep 30 2009 at 11:36 AM EST  10 Comments

 
Mr. Bumble the skunk loves his bacon sandwiches, but his new owners have put him on a vegetarian diet to help shed the extra weight they’ve added to his frame. 
 
 
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At 14 pounds, Mr. Bumble is twice his ideal weight. His previous owners, who indulged his love for pork, gave him to the RSPCA and he now lives at Tropiquaria animal park near near Watchet, Somerset, where he’s fed fruit and vegetables.
 
His new healthy diet, along with a daily exercise regimen, should help him shed the extra 7 pounds that have made his naturally sleek body so rotund. Skunks’ natural diet in the wild is made up of insects, mice, greenery and dead animals.
 
Skunks have become popular as household pets in the U.K., but abandonment rates are up as a new law prevents the removal of their scent glands. Tropiquaria park owner Chris Noisier says that they’re not sure whether Mr. Bumble has been de-scented.
 
"We're now working on dieting him down to what he should be. Clearly bacon butties are not a normal part of a skunk's diet in the wild,” Noisier told the BBC.
 
"We're putting him on the vegetarian option at the moment. It's very much like a human weight watching issue. He is getting to meet lots of new people so there's lots going on in his life and I suspect it's making up for the lack of his old favorite food."
 
 

 

 
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    why?

    Posted By jesus christ - Tue, Oct 20 2009 at 6:13 PM EST

    if a skunk is a natural scavenger, why would you give him health foods as a diet? theyre supposed to eat rodents and bugs and roots. they go digging through trash too so give him a piece of bacon every once in a while too. theyre not made to be on a specific diet. youre all stupid.

    Come on!

    Posted By Anonymous - Sat, Oct 17 2009 at 7:41 AM EST

    How about the fact that there are people ignorant (and when I say ignorant I mean to say DUMB) enough to treat an animal like that! Isn't that what is most shocking here? People can be so foolish.

    oh btw...

    Posted By Anonymous - Sat, Oct 10 2009 at 4:52 PM EST

    porky pig, look out.

    this skunk has GOT your number!!!!!

    O_O

    XD

    *looking and blinks*

    Posted By Anonymous - Sat, Oct 10 2009 at 4:50 PM EST

    well...

    all i have to say is:

    ....

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! XD

    i'm surprised that poor animal didn't keel over from a heart attack!

    Hint: stop giving him bacon.

    Posted By goraxthegreat - Thu, Oct 01 2009 at 10:54 PM EST

    A law preventing the removal of scent glands? WTF? What's next, a law that prevents us from spaying or neutering our pets?

    I don't see how this is a big deal. There are many households that include cats and dogs that are ridiculously overweight. A Google search for "fat cats" will make this skunk look tiny. Not to mention all the fat people...

    Instead of Pepe le Pew...

    Posted By Grey Garvin - Thu, Oct 01 2009 at 6:03 PM EST

    it's Pepe le Huge!

    Sad

    Posted By Anonymous - Wed, Sep 30 2009 at 3:01 PM EST

    It seems an injustice when many people in the world will die today without the opportunity to ever experience proper nutrition...this rodent enjoys a surplus of smoked pork products.

    I Agree

    Posted By Anonymous - Fri, Oct 02 2009 at 9:39 PM EST

    Um, just for the sake of zoological correctness, skunks are members of the weasel family. Other than that, TOTAL agreement with you. Actually, other members of the weasel family also have scent glands, too; just not as developed as the skunk's.

    correction

    Posted By Anonymous - Tue, Oct 13 2009 at 7:37 AM EST

    the skunk was in the same family as weasels but it is now classed in its own family along with other skunks.

    Oh

    Posted By Phil Signet - Wed, Sep 30 2009 at 1:00 PM EST

    As if being a skunk wasn't hard enough already.

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