The late Sheikh Sayyed Mutawalli Ad-Darsh, former chairman of the UK Shari`ah Council, may Allah have mercy on him, states: “There is an Islamic view, which states that all living animals are clean, which means we are allowed to approach them and touch them. The children are being introduced to one of the creatures of Allah and so there is no harms in that so long as the pigs are dry.
There is only one exception. Dead dogs and pigs are considered to be dirty, and we are not allowed to have anything to do with them even though on this particular point. However, there are scholars who consider that tanning their skins makes them pure and permissible for use.”