Babirusa actually pierce the flesh in the snout. All species of babirusa are listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), shown on their Red List since at least 2010 and current in 2017. The genus is monotypic within the subfamily Babyrousinae, or alternatively considered to form a tribe, Babyrousini, of the subfamily Suinae. To date, only one fossil skull has been found to suggest a larger ancestor. All members of the genus were considered part of a single species until recently, the babirusa or pig-deer, "B. babyrussa", but following the split into several species, this scientific
Animal Defenders International against the use of animals in circuses. ADI, through country-specific investigations, has contributed to the passing of animal rights laws, with Bolivia passing a law to ban both wild and domestic animal acts in all circuses; and similar legislation under consideration in Colombia and Peru. In the UK, ADI is lobbying the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to introduce a ban on the use of “certain non-domesticated animals” in traveling circuses in line with DEFRA's 2006 promise to introduce an Act. ADI’s investigation into the use of animals in circuses in the UK and Europe in 1998,