A pig toilet (sometimes called a "pig sty latrine") is a simple type of toilet consisting of an outhouse mounted over a pig sty with a chute or hole connecting the two.[1] The pigs consume the faeces of the users of the toilet.
They are found in the Indian state of Goa, and are waning in popularity.[2] The subsequent use of the pigs for food carries a significant risk for human health.[3]
Pig toilets were once common in rural China, where a single Chinese ideogram signifies both "pigsty" and "privy".[4] Funerary models of pig toilets from the Han dynasty (206 BC to AD 220), prove that it was an ancient custom.[5] These arrangements have been strongly discouraged by the Chinese authorities in recent years;[6] although as late as 2005, they could still be found in remote northern provinces.[7] Chinese influence may have been the origin of the use of pig toilets in Okinawa before World War II.[8]
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