A “depressed” and “obese” pig has been rescued from a flat in Manchester after being fed biscuits, cola and junk food for seven years.
Portia the pot-bellied pig was severely overweight when she was rescued, having reached a staggering 26 stones (165 kg) – three times the healthy weight for a pig.
Animal rescuers told the BBC that by the point she was found, Portia was so heavy she could barely walk or stand, while her demeanour showed she was clearly “very depressed”.
She was taken to Whitegate Animal Sanctuary in Wirral, Merseyside, to receive appropriate care.
Laura Whelan, the founder of the sanctuary, told Manchester Evening News: “She was living in someone’s flat as a house pig, being fed junk food, biscuits and Coca-Cola.”
Jill Jolly, another staff member at the sanctuary told the BBC that Portia “could barely walk, we had to roll her to get her up” and that “she would spend up to 48 hours lying in bed, having to be hand fed, she was in a lot of pain”.
At the sanctuary, Portia was put on a strict pig-friendly diet and a rigorous exercise regime to manage her weight.
Once she was reintroduced to life as a pig, she shed the extra pounds and went back to being a happy, healthy pig.
Ms Whelan continued: “She’s amazing, she’s very sassy, she has a proper piggy attitude.
“We have a pig field and, next to that, a cow field, and she will stand at the gate to shout at us to let her in. She knows when she wants to go.”
The animal sanctuary was set up five years ago to provide refuge to animals that were saved from the meat and dairy industry.
Today, the sanctuary is a happy home to over 150 cows, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys and ducks.
Laura hopes that one day she will be able to expand her sanctuary and finally own her own farm, as the current facility is rented.
She said: “With renting, we feel like we could go at any time, and if we were asked to leave, there’s very few places we could go with 150 animals.
“We’d love to get our own place someday. That’s our end goal, for security, to keep the animals safe.”
