Pigs might fly ... and this one did – to save its bacon

Dec 21 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

THE chase to capture the ‘Halewood Harrier’ prompted scenes more reminiscent of a Hollywood slapstick movie.

Police and RSPCA inspectors could hardly believe their eyes as the escapee scampered along roads, careered around fields, slipped through fingers and even flew over a 3ft wall.

Hardly the sort of behaviour to be expected from – a pig. Especially one that turned up quite unexpectedly in the middle of Halewood’s Norley Wood housing estate.

Even now, it is still not clear how the spring-heeled female white sow happened to be there. But its efforts to remain have now become part of local folklore.

Evading capture for well over an hour, RSPCA animal collection officer Derek Hampson finally brought home the bacon when he wrestled it to the ground after grabbing it by the hind legs.

“It was a strange incident. We don’t deal with many pigs,” he said last night.

“When I arrived at the scene it was running around the roads and into the fields at the back of the estate.

“The pig was very mobile and jumped over a 3ft wall at one point, they’re quite agile little creatures and it was very difficult to catch. I got hold of it three times before we managed to pin it down, and it gave us the run around for about an hour-and-a-half.

“I caught it in my net at one point but it just went straight through it.

“We finally got it down in an enclosed area, where I grabbed its legs and rolled it over on its side, and once it was on the floor two of us held it down with another holding the head.”

The question now is: Where did the pig come from? And further-more, who does it belong to?

Mr Hampson said: “There are no farms around the estate, just houses, so whether it was somebody’s pet, or whether it had been stolen I don’t know.

“It’s difficult to guess how she may have found her way on to the streets, and she isn’t tagged and isn’t displaying any kind of identification number so we can’t trace an owner at this stage.

“We have taken the pig to a nearby farm, because we do need somewhere to keep it. We don’t get pigs that often so there are no RSPCA facilities.”

Once caught, the sow was found to be in good condition and was transferred to a private farm nearby to rest and recover from her ordeal.

Now the RSPCA is appealing for anyone who may have any information about the pig to come forward by contacting the confidential RSPCA cruelty and advice line on 0300 123 4999.

vickyanderson