A Prince George pig rescue is looking for a forever home for a “very friendly, very hungry” pig who was found alone on the side of Highway 97 in the southern interior of British Columbia.
Kerri Hegel, who runs Tickled Pig Rescue, said the pig showed up outside of a woman’s house north of Clinton, a village about 400 kilometres south of Prince George, last Friday.
The woman contacted Star’s Piggly Wiggly’s Sanctuary in Summerland, about 290 kilometres southeast of Clinton, but it was full, Hegel said, adding the sanctuary called her.
“He needed help,” said Hegel. “He deserves a life. He ended up with us for a reason.”
He appears to be a domestic pig of the Kunekune breed, Hegel said. And at about 125 pounds, he is very large for his age, which Hegel estimates to be under one year old.
Kunekunes can weigh up to 220 pounds, according to the British Kunekune Pig Society’s website.
Hegel picked the pig up Tuesday evening, and said he had torn up the lawn of the woman’s house searching for food.
During the four hour-long car ride home, “he enjoyed listening to music and oinking at us every time we spoke.”
Hegel described the pig as a “pushy, hungry boy.” She said the woman who was feeding him was afraid of him, and said he would sit on a hill outside her house staring in through the kitchen window.
His pig-headed nature is apparent, Hegel said, adding he escaped from his pen by Wednesday morning and was socializing with the other pigs.
He is accustomed to people and adjusting to his temporary home with the nine other pigs — although he is picking fights with the other males, which Hegel said is normal behaviour.
Apart from what may be frostbite on the pig’s ears and tail, he’s in good shape and spirits, Hegel said, adding she hopes to get him looked at by a veterinarian soon.
Hegel has been contacted by several people interested in taking him, but many want him for food or for breeding. She said she is screening people carefully to ensure he ends up at a loving home.
“He’s a lovable guy, we just don’t want him to end up being anybody’s food,” said Hegel, who has been running the rescue for about six years.
Feral pigs advisory
Domestic pigs who escape their homes or are abandoned can become establish feral pig populations, which can threaten the wildlife, cause economic damage, and transmit diseases, according to the Columbia Shuswap Invasive Species Society, a non-profit that aims to educate the public and manage invasive species in B.C.’s southern interior.
A release from the organization earlier this month warned the public that wild pig populations may arise from those who were displaced during summer wildfires. It said people should never release captive pigs into the wild and that if anyone sees wild pigs, they should report them.
