The Pigs on Koh Madsum: What the Trips Say, What Nobody Official Says

No authority and no recognised animal welfare body has published anything about the pigs on Koh Madsum (as of November 2026): not how many there are, where they came from, who looks after them, or whether visitors may feed them. Everything said about them comes from the tour operators, and they do not agree with each other. So this page cannot tell you that the pigs are well kept or badly kept, wild or owned. It can tell you what each trip says, where those statements clash, and which trips forbid feeding, so you can choose with your eyes open.

The short answer

Whether a visit sits right with you is your call, and there is no official finding to lean on either way. If you go, pick the trip by its own rules on feeding, and read the bite warning that two operators give their guests.

What the trips say the pigs are

The tour operators describe the same animals in incompatible ways, and none cites a source:

• TripGuru Thailand's island-hopping day: “The pigs that you will find on Madsum Island are wild pigs.”
• Oh-Hoo's pink dolphin and Pig Island trip calls them “wild boars roaming freely”.
• Discover Thailand's private longtail: “The pigs and dogs are from a local family living on the island.”
• SOUTHEAST ASIA CO.,LTD.'s electric longtail: “Pigs and dogs are cared for by a local family.”
• Oh-Hoo's private longtail says they are pigs “that swam over from Koh Taen”.
• Highsea Tour's teak cruise calls them “village pigs”.

Wild pigs and a family’s animals cannot both be true. No official record settles it, so none of these versions appears on this site as fact.

What the trips say about feeding

Here the trips split into three groups, in their own words:

• Feeding not allowed. Angthong Sea Tour's speedboat trip and its shorter Pig Island speedboat trip both list “Feeding animals” among the things not allowed.
• Feeding offered as part of the visit. TKToursamui's sunset trip, Oh-Hoo's speedboat with lunch, Oh-Hoo's private longtail and Highsea Tour's teak cruise all present feeding the pigs as something you can do.
• Nothing said. Samui Jetski Safari's jet ski safari, Happy Samui's speedboat half day, Mr.O Samui City Tour's longtail day and Ocean King Samui Catamaran Co,Ldt's speed catamaran do not mention feeding either way.

No authority has published a rule on feeding that applies to Koh Madsum (as of November 2026). The “not allowed” above is each operator’s own trip rule.

Bites and dogs

Two operators warn their guests about bites in almost the same words. Discover Thailand's private longtail: “Be careful with the pigs, if they bite you, you might need to get rabies shots.” SOUTHEAST ASIA CO.,LTD.'s electric longtail: “Be cautious as pig bites may require rabies shots.” Both also mention dogs on the island.

What no authority has published

The Tourism Authority of Thailand mentions the island’s pigs only in passing and has no attraction page for it (checked November 2026); it names Koh Madsum in a published route around the south of Koh Samui, and that is all. No official body has published a count of the pigs, their origin, their care or a rule for visitors (as of November 2026). If that changes, it belongs on this page, and the operators’ versions above give way to it.

If you would rather not see feeding

Book one of the two Angthong Sea Tour trips that forbid it, and know that trips which offer feeding visit the same island. If you would rather not set foot on Koh Madsum at all, no trip carded on this site skips it; Koh Tan snorkelling covers the reef half of the day.