Threatened pigs saved after sanctuary's appeal

Josephine (left) and Poppy are Kunekune pigs, which are smaller than commercial pigs

Two pigs who were at risk of being slaughtered will now be rehomed after help from a West Yorkshire pig sanctuary.

Josephine and Poppy, who are seven-year-old Kunekune pigs, needed to be moved from a farm in Berkshire before the weekend.

Staff from The Pigs in the Wood sanctuary in Huddersfield - which is home to 26 mistreated pigs - heard of the pair's plight and reached out on social media in a bid to find someone who could give them a permanent home.

Jaclyn Haggata, Pigs in the Wood founder, said that following the successful appeal she hoped Josephine and Poppy could be moved on Saturday to a new home with a private owner.

Josephine (left) and Poppy will be moved to their permanent new home at the weekend

Josephine and Poppy had previously been living at a bird sanctuary on a farm in Berkshire, but that site had to close after a dispute with the farmer, she said.

"They had to rehome all their animals, but they couldn't find a home for the pigs so they had to stay behind with the promise that they would be moved," Ms Haggata explained.

"The farmer was threatening to have them killed because he didn't want them on the land."

That sparked the appeal by Pigs in the Wood, which has a popular social media following and which has recently rehomed six pigs to three different homes.

An appeal to help the Berkshire pair was put out on social media by the Pigs in the Wood sanctuary in Huddersfield

Ms Haggata said: "We have 26 pigs and they are all rescued. Most are commercial pigs from farms. All have different stories to tell, and some of them were used for breeding most of their lives and then have come to us.

"Generally people don't want an ex-commercial pig that weighs 50 stone in their garden, that acts like a bulldozer.

"These two were very popular because of their size - they are smaller than commercial pigs."

Ms Haggata added that Poppy had arthritis in her leg and walked with a limp, so needed extra monitoring but was not in pain.

The number of people who had offered to help the pair was "reassuring for future emergencies", she said.

Ms Haggata said the Pigs in the Wood site in Scissett relied on donations and covered 10 acres (four hectares) of woodland.

It had space for pigs, goats and even feral cats to roam free and live naturally, she said.

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