Pigs censored on International New York Times by bizarre editing in Malaysia
Pigs censored on International New York Times byeditors in Malaysia

Farmyard pigs have been censored in the international edition of the New York Times in a bizarre bid to stop them hogging the limelight.

Black squares were placed over the porkers' heads in Wednesday's international edition of the famous newspaper.

A herd of piglets had their privacy protected on the front page in a story about rising demand for humanely reared pigs by American restaurants. The "spill" continuation of the story on page 19 showed a pair of adult pigs with their faces hidden.

Pigs are sensitive creatures so hopefully no 'oink-ment' was required to soothe egos bruised by their treatment in copies of the paper on sale in Malaysia.

The swines: Local printers in Malaysia didn't consult New York Times HQ on the change
The swines: Local printers in Malaysia didn't consult New York Times HQ on the change

It turns out the edits were made not in a bid to protect the privacy rights of the beasts but to spare the feelings of Muslim readers.

The printers of the NYT acted in case the animals caused offence in a country where pork and its derivatives are off the menu for two thirds of the population because of their islanic beliefs.

Speaking to the Malay Mail Online, a spokesman for the printers admitted acting without the consent of the NYT.

He said: "We've been doing this for some time. We block out pictures of nudes and things like these. This is a Muslim country."

Islam is the state religion of Malaysia, which has a population of 28m – of whom 18.6m are Muslim.